


Saving the Wicked

by DragonSwanQueen8



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Blood Magic, Dark Magic, Domestic Violence, F/F, Jealous Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Magic-Users, Mating, Memory Loss, Pregnancy, Sex Magic, Shapeshifting, Werewolf Turning, magic baby, suppressed memories, triggered moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-06-11 16:45:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15319833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSwanQueen8/pseuds/DragonSwanQueen8
Summary: This is a WickedSwan story. Emma finds out the truth of her parents' actions against Maleficent, but on the way to find Lily and rescue Robin from Zelena, she finds out Robin has been abusing Zelena while she was Marian and sets out to protect her. Regina is dealing with the fact Robin isn't who she thought he was and has to decide between him and her family. Ruby helps her.





	1. Chapter One

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter 1

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. This is a WickedSwan story. There are just not enough stories like this out there so Lynkfan contacted me about the possibility of me writing one like this, which coincidentally I had been considering doing something like this. Lol with Zelena having so much in common with Emma, I am surprised there are not more stories like this out there.  
This takes place where Regina finds out that Zelena is alive and masquerading as Marian and living with Robin. Maleficent reaches out to Emma for help to find her daughters. And when Emma finds out who one of Maleficent’s daughter happens to be, she will drop everything to help bring her childhood friend home. Don’t worry, this story version is different. LOL

########

Regina Mills paced back and forth, feeling extremely agitated and angry. Ever since Mr. Gold had revealed to her that something was going on with Robin, something he very clearly knew about, thanks to her older half-sister, Zelena. Gold knew exactly what was going on. And just now, he had suggested she call Robin. Which she did, only to have heard Zelena herself at the other end of the phone. Regina had been taken aback by surprise to find out her sister was in fact alive and had been masquerading as Robin’s dead wife, Marian. Regina wanted to end Zelena right now for all her deceit and lies. Knowing that Zelena deliberately went after Robin in order to hurt her, was the last straw. She wanted to go to Robin and rescue him from her sister. She needed to get him away from her.

Unfortunately, Regina wasn’t the only one having a bad day.

Emma Swan was having a truly horrible few days. Her parents were obviously keeping secrets from her. She had tried to get them to open up to her, but ever since Cruella and Ursula arrived in their town in Storybrooke, her parents were behaving strangely around her, being secretive every time they were in her presence. They refused to be honest with her or to tell her what was going on with them. Now that Maleficent was also back, her parents were in panic mode. They were constantly looking over their shoulders, expecting Maleficent and her goons to jump out and attack them. Emma knew it was clear something had happened between her parents and the Dragon. That much was very obvious. That all took place a few days ago.

And now finally, after a few days had gone by with her parents refusing to open up to Emma, her parents were sitting down with her at the station and were confessing to Emma everything they put Maleficent and her daughters through. Emma was thoroughly appalled and utterly dismayed to hear that her parents would resort to doing something so unforgivable like separating a mother from her babies. She couldn’t begin to conceive such a notion of them actually cold-heartedly stealing them and putting their daughter’s darkness inside them. Not when they always valued themselves as heroes and took pride in being so much better than those villains they despised. Emma couldn’t believe what she was hearing coming from them. “How could you… why would you go and do something like that?! Why the hell would you want to do that to her daughters? To put… put my darkness inside them?! What the hell?!” She felt as if her blood had turned to ice. It was as if her parents had become strangers to her. She didn’t know who they were. Not anymore.

“We didn’t want to involve you in our mess! They’re monsters! Villains!!! What difference would it make if we put more darkness in them?! Please Emma! You need to understand…” Mary Margaret tried to justify their actions.

“Emma, your mother and I… we didn’t think it wo…” David started.

Emma scoffed and snapped. “No you didn’t think!!! You didn’t want me involved?! Well it’s too late for that now!!! You made it MY business the moment you brought my darkness into this!!! You BOTH did this!!!” She glared at David and Mary Margaret. “You decided my fate because of visions you had of me supposedly ripping your heart out and killing you?! My darkness became an issue for you. You didn’t want someone tainted with darkness as your daughter. You wanted me good and pure like you?! Oh hell no!!! Because of you, I’ve grown up being abandoned all my life over and over again because nobody wanted me, they couldn’t handle a freak like me!!! They couldn’t handle someone they couldn’t… wouldn’t understand, all because I didn’t meet their expectations. They couldn’t accept me as who I am!!! And neither could you!!!” Emma was very furious. The lights began to flicker.

“Oh Emma!” Mary Margaret moved to take Emma into her arms, wanting to console her.

Emma pushed her away, feeling disgust. “No! You’re just like them!!! You basically wanted to create me into this picture perfect image of the perfect daughter you wanted to have. And the moment you were threatened by the possibility I wouldn’t be like you, you fucking had someone take away my choices, my decisions to make. It was up to me to decide who I wanted to be. ME!!! Not you!!! You’re such fucking hypocrites!!!” She spat. The light nearest the Charmings burst and exploded.

The Charmings gasped as they moved away noticing that Emma’s powers were getting out of control. They cringed. Mary Margaret gasped as she saw the way Emma was looking at them. She grew indignant. “Emma! I’m your mother!!!” She couldn’t believe what her daughter said of them and didn’t appreciate what her daughter was saying.

Emma gave them an icy cold look. “I don’t fucking care.” She stormed out of there, wanting to get away from them and she didn’t know how to deal with their terrible secret. She wanted to do something about what she learned.

Mary Margaret looked at her husband, tears streaming from her eyes as her shoulders slumped. “She hates us.”

David shook his head. “She’s just upset right now. This was a huge thing we kept from her. What did you expect?” He hugged her tightly. “Don’t worry, we’re a family and we will fix this together.” He hoped they would be able to work things out with their daughter.

########

Maleficent chose that very moment to pay a visit to Mr. Gold. She needed information only he could give her, regarding the whereabouts of her babies. She wanted to know who they were and if they were indeed alive. She hoped they were. She wanted to know what happened to them after they were sent through a portal all these years ago. She eyed the imp. “Come on! You owe me!!! I need to know what happened to them!”

Gold had an impassive look on his face. He never cared about anyone except himself and Belle whenever it suited him. “I owe you nothing. You failed to get me what I wanted.”

“That’s not my fault. You know what it’s like to be a parent, to wonder what happened to your child after he went through that portal. All the years of wondering whether or not he survived. Please! I need to know.” Maleficent hated having to beg. But she would when it came to her children. She had missed out on all the important milestones most parents got to share with their children. She missed out on the chance to watch them grow up, to see them take their first steps, to hear their first words. She missed out on all the important moments in their lives and that infuriated her to no end. That was precisely why she wanted to make those damned Charmings pay for what they did since they were responsible for what happened to her precious babies. She had every intention to make them suffer for their actions.

“It might not be pretty, what happened to them.” Gold warned her.

“Please. I just need to know. You know very well who I am and what I am capable of. I have to know what happened to them.” Maleficent insisted.

Gold sighed deeply as he relented. He knew the feeling all too well. He nodded at the Dragon. “Very well. Do you have anything that belonged to them?”

Maleficent nodded and reached into her pocket, in the palm of her hand, two baby rattles were shown. One was purple and one was indigo blue. On one rattle was a star, the other rattle had the moon engraved on it. “I never had the chance to give them these.” She murmured.

Gold eyed the Dragon before he went to work and helped her to see and find out for herself what had happened to her babies after they fell through the portal.

The first thing they saw was how Maleficent’s babies clutched at each other within the egg they hatched from. They stayed together until they tried climbing out. They then crawled away from the egg that had protected them from harm. As soon as they had gotten far enough away from their shelter, one of the babies had a magically developed birthmark of a star on her wrist. They saw the other baby had one that was starting to form into the shape of the crescent moon on her wrist. As it was beginning to form, it ended and then they were shown a different scenery. They saw her brunette daughter being adopted. Her adoptive father had named the baby with the star shaped birthmark, Lilith Page but called her Lily. The other baby was then placed into foster care. The system had separated the girls. They heard a woman speaking. “There is something terribly odd about that one. Bad things seem to happen around her. The other family she was placed with, brought her back here. I suppose we’ll have to keep trying.” The woman seemed nervous around the baby which was clearly blonde like Maleficent. She had blue-green eyes and dimples. The next time they saw her as a little girl barely three being taken from a house that was engulfed in flames. Her foster parents screamed that she was a demon child. Then the scene changed and they were shown Lily when she was with her father. Lily was pouting and wasn’t happy about being with him. Her adoptive mother had just died and he was blaming her for what happened to his wife. Then it ended. Maleficent had tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She was happy to know her babies were still alive. But she wanted to know more.

“Wait!!! What’s my other daughter’s name?” Maleficent asked. She was angry that those people didn’t know how to handle her daughters. That was because they were more than they could handle. Being truly magical children, they had no business growing up in the land of no magic. “How will I find them?” She wanted her daughters back. It didn’t matter that they were all grown up now. She wanted to have them back in her arms. She wanted to be reunited with them.

Gold knew exactly who the blonde child was. But he wanted to see how long it would take before the truth of who she really was would come out. “Your blonde daughter is much closer than you think. She has a certain bond with Lily that will be revealed once Lily returns. But I do know someone who will be able to find Lily and bring her home. Once she comes home to you, your other daughter will make her presence known. Only then, will you know who she is.” His eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Who will help me find my daughters?” Maleficent was eager to bring her babies home. She’d waited for a long long time and now the possibility of having her babies back soon, was giving her hope.

Gold smiled at the Dragon. “Her name is Emma Swan.” He’d almost giggled when he said her name. “Finding people is something she’s very good at. It’s her specialty. In fact, she found my son for me.”

########

Regina called Emma and asked her to meet her at Granny’s diner for brunch. She knew the Charmings and Emma were at odds with each other right now and Mary Margaret had been badgering her about getting Emma to listen to them and to try to work things out with them. Regina relented after much begging on Mary Margaret’s part. Even though Mary Margaret had confided in Regina about what she and David did and the part they had played in what happened to Maleficent’s daughters. And about why they were afraid to tell Emma the truth, Regina had not wanted to know the details. She’d stopped her from revealing too much and told her that Emma needed to hear it from her. Not Regina. The Charmings were afraid that they had lost Emma for good. Regina said she would try to talk with Emma even though she was dealing with issues of her own. She wanted to help since Emma was her best friend and they did after all, share a son together, Henry. It wouldn’t do to have his mother and grandparents fighting all the time.

Emma relented when Regina called her. The brunette had explained that Henry was there with them and wanted to have a meal with his family. Emma sighed deeply. “Fine. I’ll be there soon.” It didn’t take her long before she arrived at the Diner. Clearly, she’d been at the station when Regina called.

Emma barely looked at her parents but smiled at Neal who was happy to see his big sister. She then moved over to Henry and ruffled his hair. “Hey kid. I’m here.” She murmured before looking at Regina. Ruby brought over a drink for the Sheriff who took it, happy to have her drink ready. She sat down as David tried to talk to his daughter.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re here Emma.” David started. “We really need to talk and…”

His daughter ignored him and started talking instead about what had been happening in town lately with the whole Queens of Darkness situation. Emma noticed that since she’d killed Cruella and Ursula had already left town, the only one left was Maleficent. She wondered if the Dragon would cause them any more trouble. That was what she asked Regina just as the door to Granny’s diner opened and the bell chimed.

“I’m not here to cause problems. I’m here to talk with you Emma, because I hear you are good at finding people.” Maleficent strode into the diner, having heard what Emma asked Regina.

Emma turned around to look at the Dragon. She stood up to face the older blonde. “Yeah, I am. So who did you want me to find for you?” She asked.

Maleficent smiled. “My daughters. I want you to find them and bring them home to me.”

Mary Margaret’s mouth opened and closed in surprise. “They’re alive?” She squeaked.

Emma bristled at what her mother asked. She clenched her jaws before she sighed and rolled her eyes. She still remembered their earlier fight and that remark did not help matters any. Oh yes she was clearly still very angry with her parents. At the same time, she knew she wanted to help Maleficent to get her daughters back. She wanted to undo the mess her parents created all these years ago. She glared at her parents coldly before turning her attention back on Maleficent. “What are their names?” She asked.

Maleficent could feel the tension in the air between Emma and her parents. She had a dark smirk on her face when she look at the Charmings. A part of her was glad to know they were having problems now. She wondered if they had finally admitted their crimes against her to their daughter. Well it was going to get much more worse and soon. She had a feeling she could trust Emma to help her. She didn’t know why, but she did. “I only know the name of one of my daughters. I have yet to find out who my other daughter is. But I was told that once you bring my daughter home, the other one will soon follow and make herself known, something to do with a bond shared with her twin.” She explained. “Her name is Lilith Page, but she is called Lily.”

Emma’s jaw dropped in surprise as her eyes grew wide once she heard Lily’s name. She was clearly in shock when Maleficent revealed her daughter’s given name. It was almost comical, the look on her face. Emma gasped and then ran out the door and went to the station. Her parents and Regina had called after the retreating blonde.

Maleficent saw the whole thing unfold and Emma’s reaction piqued her curiosity. What was that all about? Did Emma know something about Lily? She couldn’t help it to wonder why she reacted that way. Did Emma know her daughter? It appeared that she did. She began to wonder other things but knew she would find out soon enough.

Mary Margaret pouted as she looked at Regina. “And we never even had a chance to resolve things with Emma.” She was very disappointed that they never had a chance to talk with their daughter. It was Maleficent’s fault! She glared at the Dragon, upset that Maleficent had interrupted their family time with Emma.

Regina was annoyed with Mary Margaret. Something had clearly happened with Emma and with Mal asking for help to find Lily, it was clear that Emma knew something and she intended to find out. “Just stuff It Mary Margaret!!! I’m going to find Emma.” She got up and threw her napkin on her plate. She told Henry to stay with the Charmings and that she would be back. Before she left, she looked at her old friend. “I’m sure she will help you to find your daughters.” She knew Emma was the type of person to go out of her way to help people. She just couldn’t help herself.

Maleficent nodded before looking at the Charmings with a sneer on her face. She couldn’t wait to find out what Emma knew about her daughter. Emma clearly cared about Lily. She chuckled darkly as she thought about the irony of it as she looked at her nemesis’.

########

Emma was looking through a microfilm of old newspapers until she came across a picture of Lily. She knew it was her down to the star shaped birthmark she had on her wrist. It was like she had gone back in time, just thinking about Lily. She was feeling nostalgic, already she missed her.

Regina found her friend and saw what Emma was looking at. “You found her? Is that Lily?” She asked.

Emma nodded. “I knew her. Back when we were teenagers. She was my best friend. How can it be? How would I know I would befriend the daughter of my parents’ worst enemy? They were responsible for what happened to her. Putting my darkness in her?, and her life was hell all because of me?!” The lights began to flash and break around them.

Regina was surprised at the lights bursting around them. She knew Emma was powerful. Clearly she was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry enough. She sighed. “Fate’s a bitch isn’t it? You were meant to meet her, to cross paths with her.” She smiled as a idea formed in her head. “Listen Emma…” she distracted her long enough to prevent her from going into full on rage. The blonde sheriff turned and looked at her. Regina smiled, glad to see Emma had calmed down somewhat. “You know I was thinking, since I found out Zelena is alive and masquerading as Marian… How about we take a road trip together? You Find Lily and then afterwards, we go get Robin away from my sister?”

Emma looked at Regina, surprise in her eyes as she contemplated them taking a trip together. “You want a road trip together? You and me?” She never thought Regina was much for things like that, but she knew with the right reason, she would go for it.

“Sure, why not? I mean we do share a son. I am certain we will get along for this. Kill two birds with one stone. You get Lily, I get Robin back from my crazy sister.”

Emma finally smiled and nodded. “I’m going to make some calls and find out where Lily’s living at and then once I do, we can get the show on the road.” She was happy just to be able to get away from it all, even just for a short time. It would give her the much needed space she needed away from the Charmings.

Regina smiled as she reached out and hugged Emma. “I’m really sorry your parents did this to your friend. She didn’t deserve this. Neither did her sister. I know Mal will be happy knowing you’re going to find her daughters.”

########

Emma made some phone calls and finally got the address of Lily’s last known place of residence. She let Regina know they were going to leave right away. They made some arrangements for Henry to stay with the Charmings until they got back. They ran into Hook just as they prepared to give Maleficent the good news.

The pirate noticed the bags in the car as he arrived. “You’re leaving? I came ta see if I cud convince ya ta come with me on me ship. But clearly he have otha plans with da evil qween.” Killian replied, slurring his words. His breath stunk of rum and he was barely standing up straight.

Emma glared at the pirate, not appreciating what he called Regina. When he was this drunk, he behaved very repulsively. She never went for guys like him. Not when she preferred women. Hook had been trying nonstop to get into her pants. “That’s none of your business. Go back to your boat and sleep it off. You stink. Unless you want to sleep it off in a cell reserved with your name on it.”

Regina smirked at the pirate, knowing how much he hated her. Still she found it amusing how many times Hook had tried to woo the fair skinned princess Emma Swan. She just enjoyed watching Emma turn him down every single time. She never got tired of seeing the look on his face every time she rejected his advances.

Killian tried again to get closer to Emma and went so far as to cup her breast into his hand, copping a feel from the blonde woman he wanted to bed that very night.

That did it. Emma made a fist and clocked him hard. He crashed to the floor, knocked out cold. He was out for the night. She then called for David to haul his ass to jail to sleep off the rum.

Emma then turned her attention to a smirking Maleficent who had clearly found the whole situation very entertaining. She had gotten a kick out of watching the younger blonde knock out that filthy rum soaked pirate. The Dragon had truly enjoyed seeing this side of the savior. She could sense the darkness inside her. THAT alone, surprised her. Emma was clearly a spitfire and she liked that about her. Before she could say something about it, Emma spoke up.

“So… I found Lily’s last known place of residence. We’re going to leave today to find her and bring her home to you.” Emma saw the way Maleficent was smiling at her. She found herself smiling back, feeling like she had done something right and she liked the way it made her feel.

Maleficent beamed happily. Regina had told the Dragon about what happened when she found Emma and how the younger blonde had known Lily. It had amazed her and now she understood why Emma was extremely upset with the Charmings. She absolutely loved the irony of it all. How their daughter had ended up being friends with her own daughter.she had a good feeling about Emma and knew that should she ever need her help in the future, there would be nothing she wouldn’t ever do for her. “Thank you darling Emma. I appreciate it more than you know. Please do keep in touch with me and be safe, you two.”

Emma nodded and smiled at the older blonde. She felt like they understood each other better now. She was so happy to be helping this Dragon to get her daughters back and felt as if she owed it to her after having tried to kill her thanks to Mr. Gold.

Granny had their food ready and packed for their trip and Emma and Regina were more than ready to leave when Mary Margaret chose that moment to enter and stop them from leaving. She had run in after making sure Henry was at his friend’s house. She had wanted to catch Emma before she left, hoping to stop her in time.

“Emma please!!! I don’t want you to leave upset like this. Why do you want to help them? You should leave things alone!! Don’t do this…” Mary Margaret tried to convince her daughter not to go. She didn’t want Emma to help her enemy. She did not want her daughter anywhere close to the Dragon or her spawns. And she did not like the idea of Emma going on a trip with Regina either. She wanted them where she could keep a close eye on them.

Emma pushed her way past her petite mother. “No! You don’t get to tell me what to do!!! Not after what you did to them!!! YOU are the reason why Maleficent doesn’t have her daughters! You separated them from their mother!!! I will NEVER forgive what YOU’VE done!!! Lily was MY best friend!!! I’m bringing Lily and her sister home to their mother whether or not you like it!!!” Emma snapped, the lights flashed dangerously right then and there, much to the surprise of Maleficent.

Regina took Emma by her arm, distracting her as they left the diner and got into Emma’s yellow beetle. She knew it would be better for them if she got Emma away from Mary Margaret. Seeing how angry Emma was, she knew if she didn’t, things were bound to get out of control back at the diner. They then left to find Lily and to rescue Robin. They had absolutely no way of knowing their lives were about to change.

Maleficent smiled darkly at the Charmings. She was touched by the way Emma had stood up to them, defending her honor. “When my daughters come home, we will deal with you two, once and for all.” She thought back to the power she sensed coming from Emma and found herself wondering why it had felt so familiar. Like it was calling out to her. She remembered what Gold had said to her about her blonde daughter being closer than she thought. Could it be? She inhaled deeply, trying to see if it were possible.

The Charmings distracted her, trying to apologize to the Dragon who in turn refused their apology and told them their apology wasn’t good enough. She would never forgive them. She let them know it was not her forgiveness they needed. Dejected, the Charmings left. They felt lousy. Emma was angry with them. Maleficent wouldn’t forgive them. Regina had her own issues with Robin and Zelena. There was a sense of impending doom. And they didn’t know what to do about it. All they knew, was they needed to protect Neal from what was coming their way. They had no idea what was going to happen. But they would try to work harder to resolve their issues with Emma when she got back. They would worry about the Dragon and her family later. Or at least they would try to.


	2. Saving the Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina are on their way to find Lily and her sister and get them reunited with Maleficent. At the same time, they make a stop in NYC to rescue Robin from Zelena. Things don't turn out the way they expected. Unexpected surprises ahead! Hints of swanqueen moments but this is a WickedSwan story all the way.

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter 2

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. Now Emma and Regina are on their way to find Lily and rescue Robin from Zelena. Or so they think… Lol what will happen once Emma brings Lily back to Storybrooke? What will happen with Zelena once they bring her back along with Robin? Hmmm shall we find out? Again, this story is for Lynkfan. Hope you all enjoy!!!

########

As Emma drove out of Storybrooke, she thought back to everything that happened since the arrival of the Queens of Darkness. She thought about Lily and how she turned out to be the daughter of Maleficent. She still had a hard time wrapping her head around what her parents did to Maleficent and her daughters. She didn’t like the way her parents handled the whole thing. She felt ashamed of them. And it made it harder even more so since her darkness had been an issue with them before she was even born. How the hell could she have had darkness inside her if she was supposed to be the product of true love? That just made absolutely no sense whatsoever. But still, she was appalled by her parents’ actions against Lily and her sister just because their mother was Maleficent? 

They were innocent and victims of what her parents did. She didn’t care that Maleficent was who she was. Her parents had no business doing what they did to those babies. Their excuse? Simply because Maleficent and her babies were monsters?! They’d had the nerve to use that against them just because they were dragons. Emma scoffed, remembering how Mary Margaret and David tried to justify their actions. 

She gripped her steering wheel, hating their hypocrisy as she also thought about Ruby. She was supposed to be Mary Margaret/Snow White’s best friend. Ruby was a bona fide werewolf! She had bloodthirsty tendencies especially during wolfstime. She would go on a bloodthirsty rampage if she wasn’t secured properly. And well, she wasn’t mated to anyone yet. Emma knew from research, that if Ruby had been mated, she would be able to control her beast better. That was the way of the Law of the Jungle. She’d taken several books out of the library when she’d returned with Mary Margaret and found out what had happened in their absence. This happened around the time Ruby had been framed for murder and the whole town had gotten together, planning to find Ruby and destroy her. Emma knew exactly what it felt like to be framed for a crime she had never committed. Ironically enough, it was David who had helped Ruby when they found out who was behind the murders. When Emma heard what happened, she’d gotten curious and wanted to learn more about werewolves and their habits so she would ensure nothing like that would happen again in her town. Yet Mary Margaret was so quick to label Maleficent and her unborn babies as monsters. What a hypocrite!!! All just because Maleficent was known for being a fearsome Dragon. A very powerful sorceress. A villain. Dragons had a very bad reputation so it didn’t help that she was just behaving as nature intended for her to be. No doubt that was what had driven her to the dark side. She was the true Queen of the Darkness. 

In their eyes, Maleficent was the worse of the worst. The Charmings used this fact against the Dragon, not caring about how Maleficent was a mother herself. They’d attacked Maleficent and taken her daughters away from her and then used dark magic to pour Emma’s darkness inside them. The Apprentice had then sent them through a portal, never to be with their mother again. That alone, gave Maleficent the motivation she needed to go after the Charmings. Emma could never forgive them for what they did. Especially knowing Lily and the life she led because of them. They’d also thrown Emma away themselves just barely a hour after she had been born. Both Emma and Lily had a hard life growing up. Emma had never been able to forgive her parents for throwing her away like that. 

A part of Emma started wishing she wasn’t the daughter of those damned Charmings. She felt ashamed to be their daughter. Those Charmings had judged Maleficent and her daughters harshly, without any regard to the fact Maleficent was a mother and that they had separated a mother from her babies.

Emma looked over at the brunette sitting next to her and shook her head as she huffed, remembering that the same thing had happened to Regina. The Charmings had judged her too. She remembered how everyone had wanted Regina’s blood to be spilled the moment the curse had broken. She used to be the Evil Queen. Well, she still was considered the Evil Queen by those people. She shook her head and smirked, remembering something else. How Regina had adopted her son. She’d raised Henry to be an amazing kid. She had done such a spectacular job making sure he would grow up to be a young man a mother could be proud of. Yet she used to do things, horrendous things that earned her the title of the Evil Queen. It was all thanks to Snow White. Yet Regina tried to atone for her sins by being the best mom she could be for their son, Henry. She had not been the Evil Queen for a long time. And still, the moment the curse broke, even though she had not hurt anyone during the 28 years of the curse, the townsfolk had been too quick to condemn her, to launch an attack against Regina. An attack that Emma had prevented from happening. Emma truly despised hypocrisy.

Regina saw the way Emma was looking at her and smiled as she then spoke up. “You know, I especially enjoyed watching you knock Captain Guyliner’s light out.” She smirked as she licked her lips.

“What?” Emma wasn’t sure what she heard, having been so deep in her thoughts. Regina had distracted her from thinking too much about what happened earlier. “What was that you said?”

Regina chuckled, seeing that the blonde had been very distracted. “I said I truly enjoyed watching you knock that filthy pirate of yours out.” She’d gotten a kick out of it.

Emma smirked as she turned to look at Regina. “He’s not my pirate. I know he has been trying to get into my pants ever since Neverland. But he is barking up the wrong tree if you get my drift.” She smiled when Regina gave her a look that said she didn’t understand. Emma chuckled. “You really don’t know do you? I’m… gay. I love women.” She felt since they were taking a road trip together, it was high time Regina Mills learned a thing or two about her.

The Mayor’s jaw dropped at this bit of information. Her Sheriff was into women? “Since when? What about Henry?” She was confused. She’d always thought Emma was straight. She began wondering about some things, trying to see if there had been clues. How had she missed it?

Emma chuckled wryly. “Lesbians are capable of having kids. We may not all choose science to make it happen. Neal and I? Well I had run away from my last foster home when I had just turned seventeen. I was sick and tired of being shuffled around between homes a couple times a year…” Emma patted the steering wheel. “I found this car with every intention of stealing it. I didn’t see anyone in the front seat.” She shrugged before continuing. “Should have checked the backseat. But eager as I was to be able to get my own ride… I broke in and Neal surprised me. Turned out he had already stolen this car. I never planned to have sex with him. Having a heterosexual relationship with him was the furthest thing from my mind. He KNEW I liked women. I made sure he knew it. But one night we got drunk. He was more than old enough to buy alcohol. His excuse was, he was lonely and needed release. I was drunk, young, and naive. He didn’t use a condom. I woke up fuzzy and disoriented. I didn’t remember what happened the previous night. It was a one time thing with him. Next thing I know, I’m doing him a favor that landed me in prison. You know the rest of the story.”

Regina nodded. She couldn’t believe Neal had the nerve to take advantage of a teenager just to satisfy his itch. What a jerk. She was still surprised to hear that Emma liked women. She should have known. The signs were there right? All those flirtatious glances they shared. Regina had even initiated some of those looks she shared with Emma, challenging her and egging her on. But then Neal was there, trying to get Emma to forgive him and give him another chance, conveniently forgetting that Emma preferred women. 

And then there was Killian. And oh yes, briefly Graham had pursued Emma. He had kissed her hadn’t he? Regina had been so mad that the late Sheriff had picked the blonde over her. She’d gone into her vault where she had kept Graham’s heart hidden. She’d retrieved his heart and had crushed it without a second thought, effectively killing him. She had been threatened by Emma Swan’s presence when she first came into town. Had she really? Or did a part of her want to see what it would have been like to kiss her when Graham admitted to kissing Emma. Instead of kissing her, she’d punched her at the entrance of her vault. Now that she thought about it, she realized there had been sexual tension between herself and Emma Swan. Why hadn’t they acted on it? Why hadn’t she taken the bull by its horns and just kissed Emma Swan then? 

A part of her felt guilty for killing him now that she knew Emma had always liked women. Graham never had a chance with the blonde. She bit her lip, thinking about everything that had happened since then. Over time, they had learned to get along and had become friends for their son’s sake. And their friendship had brought them closer. And just now, she was realizing there was more to Henry’s mother than she had thought. “Well still, I should have seen it, Miss Swan.” She smiled. “It’s good to know.”

Emma chuckled. She was glad Regina didn’t take it the wrong way. “Yeah. Now you know. And we are going to make sure Lily’s reunited with Maleficent and that you’re reunited with your pine cone.” She smirked. She had never much cared for Robin Hood. There was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. The vibes coming from him just seemed so wrong somehow.

Regina scoffed. “Pine cone? Really? Just wait until you find the woman of your dreams. If I approve of your choice that is… we’ll see if I have any special nicknames reserved for her.”

Emma shook her head and chuckled, knowing that Regina had a habit of doing just that when it suited her. She did find it amusing… sometimes.

It wasn’t long before they finally arrived at their destination. They turned into the parking lot, noticing the place looked rundown. It didn’t look like a place for anyone to stay. Actually, it looked like it should have been torn down and rebuilt properly. It didn’t look as if the building codes were up to par. In fact, there should be signs saying this place was unsafe to reside in.

As soon as they got inside, they could see junk littered all over the place. Regina mused, “I should have chosen this place for my curse. This is just absolutely disgusting!” She had a look of utter distaste on her face.

“I can’t believe Lily ever lived here. If she did, she’s probably long gone. Let’s see if there’s at least a forwarding address.” Emma stepped over an old bike and they were soon standing in front of Lily’s apartment. She knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again harder.

A man came out of the apartment next door. He looked like he hadn’t seen a shower for a couple of weeks. The man grunted. “What the hell do you want?”

Emma shared a look with Regina before looking at the man, seeing he was in a serious need of a shave. “We’re looking for Lily Page. Have you seen her?” She asked. Regina was looking at the man like he was a bug to be squashed under her heel. They both were not getting positive vibes from this man at all.

Their intuition about him proved right with the next words that came out of his mouth. His breath stank as he spoke. “That bitch hasn’t been around the past three years. The cunt owes me money! Maybe she’s dead in a ditch somewhere. I hope she is.” He leered.

Emma grabbed him by his throat and punched him in the face HARD. She heard and felt a very satisfying crunch under her fist as she broke his nose. She punched him again for good measure, wanting to inflict as much pain as possible. She managed to punch him again a third time and was prepared to inflict more damage to his bloody face before Regina reached out and pulled Emma back. As Emma was being pulled back, she kicked out between his legs as hard as she could. Smirking with satisfaction as he howled and screamed in pain and dropped to the floor, one hand clutching between his legs at his injured manhood and the other shielding his face as much as he could, trying to decide which exposed area he should try to protect. His face was a bloody mess. 

Regina snapped Emma out of her need to destroy him even more for what he said about Lily. The blonde sneered and laughed at the whimpering mess of a man as without thinking about it, she licked her bloody fist while Regina continued pulling her away. As soon as they got out of the building, it finally hit Emma hard as she realized what she had done. “Oh gods what the hell did I do?!” She looked at her still bloodied hand. She could taste the man’s blood in her mouth and realized she had liked it. She liked the thrill of hurting the man for what he said about her best friend. She’d liked it too much. It had felt so good to make that jackass pay like that. But then that wasn’t who she really was. Was It? Emma normally didn’t do things like that. It was very unlike her. What had she done? This was completely out of character for her to do something like this. Well unless she was on the job as a bail bonds person. She’d chased bad guys down and used force when she had to. But that was her job. And she was damned good at it. So why was it different this time? She’d lost it. She had attacked a man who badmouthed Lily and she’d liked it. What the hell was happening to her? This just wasn’t like her.

Regina helped her to clean the blood off her hand, pouring some water from a water bottle she had at hand. She’d never seen this side of Emma before. But she wasn’t unnerved about it, having seen a lot in her lifetime before. She’d even hurt people before too. “You’re upset. He had nothing nice to say about your friend. You must really care about Lily for you to react this way.” Had she seen something else in Emma’s eyes when that happened? She couldn’t be entirely sure of it. Maybe it was just a trick of light playing in her eyes right? But the lights were not bright enough to have that kind of effect were they? Regina tried to figure out what it was exactly she had seen. She also had thought she had sensed something else radiating from Emma. But she set aside those thoughts she was having for now as she helped Emma deal with the aftermath of the confrontation she had with that man at the apartment complex. She would deal with what happened later. Right now, her best friend was upset and she needed her.

Emma nodded, still shaken up over what had happened. She’d very nearly killed that bastard. “Lily and I did everything together. We stole together, ran together and had lots of fun together. That is, until we had this big fight and went our separate ways. It’s stupid really. But a part of me wishes I never pushed her away when she lied about herself like that. I mean we were kids back then. Sometimes kids do stupid things right?” They got inside the car and drove off. Emma had so many regrets and was trying to get a handle on things right now.

“It happens. Nobody is perfect.” Regina replied. She knew Emma had been through a lot this past week. With killing Cruella, and the whole situation happening with her parents and Maleficent and now with what happened with that filthy bastard that Emma had attacked while they were looking for Lily. She pretty much had bashed his face in. That last address she was supposedly living at, was a bust. She could see that Emma was frustrated. “We’ll find her, I promise.” She patted Emma’s knee.

Emma sighed deeply and shook her head. “How are you so calm about this? Didn’t you see what I did back there?” She then muttered to herself. “What’s happening to me?” She was clearly shaken up about the whole thing.

Regina heard what the blonde said and smirked. “Hello? Have you met me?” She pointed at herself. “Evil Queen, destroyer of hearts and happiness.” She pointed out the obvious as she smiled. She clearly was not fazed by what happened.

Emma scoffed and chuckled. “Maybe once upon a time. This was like ten minutes ago. I can still taste that bastard’s blood in my mouth.” And she had liked it. But she wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

“Have some water dear.” Regina handed her another bottle of water and smiled at Emma. “And you’re my best friend. We’re on a road trip together. You’re helping Maleficent, the Queen of Darkness herself, to find her daughters. One of them just happens to be a childhood friend of yours!” She chuckled, loving the irony of it all. She couldn’t help but be tickled pink about the whole situation.

“Yeah, so?” Emma failed to see what Regina was getting at.

Regina threw her head back and laughed deliciously. “You’re the Savior. Not only of those peasants. But of us…” She made quotation marks in the air before continuing. “Villains too. Who would have thought you’d be out saving Maleficent’s daughters after what your idiotic hero parents did to them? Your parents aren’t happy you’re on this road trip to save Lily or the fact you’re with me. I mean the Evil Queen who took such delight in making their lives a living hell. Even though we’re getting along better, my past history with them isn’t far from their thoughts.” She pointed out with a smirk on her face. “On top of it all, they’re probably back home thinking Why Emma? Why would you want to go off saving more dragons? Monsters? Villains!” Regina chuckled, smirking wickedly at the image of what Snow White would be saying right now.

Emma responded with a knowing smirk on her face which led to them both chuckling at what they knew was probably happening at this very moment back in Storybrooke. She finally got what Regina was getting at. “I get it, yeah. But then again, I never really asked to be the Savior. That was the last thing I ever wanted to be. Especially with the life I had growing up. But then again, I did meet someone who changed my life and sent me on this path. She opened my eyes and made me see things from a different perspective. She taught me it was okay to make mistakes, that it was never too late for second chances. I may have suppressed a lot of memories from my childhood, but I did get my second chance after I met Cleo Fox. She was a bail bonds person and a damned good one.” Emma smiled as she thought about the irony of it. “I had a huge crush on her. She’d chased me down from Arizona all the way to Maine when I was wanted for robberies and skipping bail. You see, I was looking for information I needed to find my birth parents and she’d followed me, handcuffed me and told me she was taking me back to face the music for my crimes. Of course I picked the lock to get my handcuffs off while she was in the shower and I used her laptop to get the information I needed. I begged her to help me get what I needed and agreed to go quietly with her once I did.” Emma sighed and bit her lip before she continued. “I broke into the courthouse to steal some files. Unfortunately, Cleo found me.” She chewed her lip at the memory of what happened after Cleo found her.

Regina was intrigued by what Emma was sharing with her. She was getting a glimpse of her life. “What happened to her?” She asked softly.

Emma sighed heavily, regret on her face as she frowned. “She died. It was my fault. Had I stayed put like she’d asked me to, she would still be alive. But she told me to run. She had decided since she was not going to get to have the chance to take me back to Arizona, that I needed a second chance. She told me to go, and not to do what I’d been doing all my life. That I needed to do the right thing and take chances. To take the risk and see how far it could take me. That it would help me to see what she knew. That I had such great potential and that she believed in me and she needed me to start believing in myself.” She wiped the stray tear that fell down her cheek and smiled before she finished her story. “But at least I repaid her help by finding her daughter for her. Cleo had this thing about wearing a leather jacket. Said it was her armor. She knew a lot about me and the fact I had grown up in foster care. She knew I had been in jail before and had a kid. We connected over that common ground we shared. After she died, I found her daughter and gave her information about her birth mother. That was the same day I knew what I wanted to be. The direction I wanted to take with my life. I got my leather jacket from her store and walked out, a new woman. I decided to turn my life around and I did just that.”

Regina was impressed with how far Emma had come from the life she had lived. She smiled, “you should be proud of yourself. She would…” She gasped when she saw the wolf in the middle of the road. “Emma!!!”

Emma swerved to avoid hitting the wolf and as the tires skidded on the blacktop, she heard a loud pop. Her heart thundered in her chest. “Why the hell do I always see wolves around me when something happens?” She got out of the car and checked her tires. She cursed when she saw she had a flat tire. “Damnit!!!” She kicked the tire. “Just fucking great!” She growled. She sighed, running her hand through her blond hair and then turned around as she spotted a sign that said there was a gas station and a diner a quarter of a mile away. “Maybe we should get something to eat. I’ll change the tire and meet you there.” She suggested.

Regina nodded. “Of course dear.” She smiled as she headed in the direction of the diner. As she left, she thought about everything Emma had shared with her. She felt as if she had gotten to know Emma better and now had an idea of why she was the way she was.

Emma changed the tire and then drove to the gas station, filling her car up and taking care of a few things before she parked her car and moved into the diner, joining Regina. She saw that the brunette had ordered them some coffee and another waitress was bring them their paper mugs before setting them before them and pouring them some coffee.

Emma sat down and looked at the steaming hot coffee being poured. That was when she saw it. Her eyes moved from the waitress’ wrist to her name tag which read, ‘Starla’. Her eyes widened as she looked at Regina when the waitress moved away. “It’s her!” She looked to see where the waitress had gone, seeing her move out the back way towards the exit. It was clear she was taking a break from her job.

“What?” Regina turned to look in the direction Emma was.

“It’s Lily!” Emma stood up and went to find the waitress who poured them their coffee. Regina followed her, curious to see what would happen next. Had they found her already?

Emma found her outside taking a smoke break. She drank some coffee and decided she wasn’t thirsty anymore and had tossed the coffee into the trash can. “Hey there.”

The woman looked up at the blonde and stood up. “Yeah? Did you need anything else? Sorry, I’m on my break and I just…”

“I know who you are, Lily.” Emma started. “I’ve been looking for you…”

Lily gave a start when she realized this woman knew her name. She looked around nervously. “How did you know who I am?” She was surprised and had thought she’d covered her tracks well.

Emma smiled and reached out, taking a hold of Lily’s hand. She turned it, exposing her star shaped birthmark she had on her wrist. “Your birthmark. You showed it to me when we were kids.”

Lily finally recognized her. “Emma? Why were you looking for me? I thought you didn’t want to have anything to do with me again.” She frowned. There were things she wanted to tell Emma but she didn't know where to start. 

Emma sighed. She knew Lily was going to throw that in her face and she didn’t blame her for thinking that way. “I was a kid when I said that. I was angry and trust didn’t come easily to a foster kid like me who never found a family to finally settle with until now. It took so many obstacles and bad things happening to me to bring me to this point in my life.” She explained. She knew she needed to tell her how she felt about what happened. Now was her chance. “Lily… you were the only friend I ever had when I was a kid. Do I regret pushing you away and turning my back on you? Yeah I do. I’m sorry for breaking my promise to you. I really am.”

Lily sighed, seeing the remorse on Emma’s face. It still hurt like hell. “Is that the only reason you came looking for me? Just to say you’re sorry?”

Emma shook her head. “No. I want us to be friends again.” She admitted. “I miss you. I would love to get to know you better, to start over. I promise I will never turn my back on you again, and this time I will not break my promise to you. I swear it…” From the moment she saw Lily again, her wrist began itching like crazy. She rubbed it and tried to ignore the itching as best as she could. “Besides, I’m also here to bring you home to your Mom. She asked me to find you, and when I found out it was you… I dropped everything and came to find you.”

“She sure did.” Regina replied, moving closer to them. “In fact, believe it or not, she bashed a man’s face in for you. She stood up for you… at the last place of your residence.” She watched to see how Lily would react to what Emma did for her.

Lily’s eyes grew wide as she looked from the brunette back to Emma. “Oh shit. You mauled Doug?! Damn I would have loved to see him get what was coming to him!” She laughed as she started rubbing her wrist. Emma had done that for her? Even after what she did to her all these years ago? She felt better knowing that Emma still cared. That she wanted to be friends with her again. It warmed her heart.

Emma smirked knowingly. “It sure felt damned good!” She looked at her childhood friend all grown up now. No longer were they kids or teenagers. But the memories were still a part of them. That never changed. She hoped she would be able to make things right with Lily again. “So… Are we cool now? Would you like to come with us and meet your mother? She misses you very much.”

Lily looked at Emma and chewed on her lip. She wanted to pull her leg a little. But she also wanted to start over with Emma and mend fences with her so to speak. “I don’t know. Depends on whether or not you really found my mother. How did you do that? What’s her name?” She tried to keep a straight face, knowing exactly who she was, having learned about her a long time ago.

Emma smirked. “I became a bail bonds person. Tracking people down is something I’m real good at. After all, I did find you.” Emma chuckled. “Are you sure you’re ready to know who your mom is? I’m not sure you’d believe it if I told you.”

“Try me.” Lily smiled, shrugging. “I might surprise you.”

Emma shared a look with Regina before she answered Lily. “Your mom’s name is Maleficent. She’s a Dragon. Crazy right?” She heard Regina snicker at this and smirked knowingly.

Lily gave Emma a huge ear to ear grin. “Maybe it would have been crazy if I hadn’t heard about her from the Apprentice himself the day of our last big fight.” She smirked.

Emma was surprised to hear what Lily said. “You met the Apprentice? What the hell was he doing there?” She wondered out loud. “Why don’t you tell us all about it while we take you to…”

“Storybrooke, Maine. Yeah good idea.” Lily smiled knowingly before she looked over at Regina, knowing exactly who she was. “You’re friends with the Evil Queen? That’s cool!!!” She grinned and then moved to quit her job, take her last paycheck and her tips before she joined them again.

Regina shared a look with Emma and smiled. “Your friend is interesting.” She saw that Emma was rubbing her wrist. “Are you alright dear?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah just a bit itchy. I’m sure it will pass.” She had not noticed that Lily was also rubbing her own wrist. The three of them got into the car and then headed for New York.

“Before we go to Storybrooke, we need to make one more stop. Regina needs to rescue her boy toy from her wicked sister.” Emma smirked.

Lily nodded and briefly wondered what happened. She shrugged, not thinking it was important at the time. She wanted to tell Emma everything she found out. She then proceeded to tell them everything the Apprentice had revealed to her. Everything, including what she learned about the Savior. She mentioned there was a sister and that she didn’t know who she was yet, only that they both had the birthmarks of the Star and the Moon on their wrists. She said her sister’s identity would be revealed soon. That she had this unbreakable bond with her and that alone would bring them together. She mentioned that she was aware of the Charmings and what they did to their family and how much she wanted them to pay for what happened. She spoke of everything she learned from the Apprentice, how he was remorseful for the part he had played in what happened to Lily and her sister. He had gone to her to try to atone for his actions against them.

Emma listened with rapt attention, hearing her out. She understood where Lily was coming from and she was still extremely pissed off at her parents for what they did to her and to her family. She sighed heavily. “You do realize the Charmings are still my parents? Don’t get me wrong, I’m still madder than hell that they did this to you, your sister and your mother. But they are still my parents whether or not I like it. They deserve to be punished, but the right way. I have a little brother who needs his parents.” She informed her.

Lily had a look of fury on her face. “They should have thought about that before stealing me and my sis from our mother!!! Mom begged them for mercy when Snow White was pregnant!!! She didn’t give a rat’s ass about it mother or not!!!” Lily was furious. “The Apprentice showed me what happened!!! How mom begged them mother to mother not to do what she did!!!”

Stunned by what Lily told her, Emma sat in silence as Lily’s words rang in her ears. She knew her friend was still feeling raw about the whole thing. It was clearly eating her up inside. Emma wondered if the tables had been turned, and she was in Lily’s shoes, would she have felt the same way? Lately, she had been struggling with the darkness that was growing inside her. Ever since she killed Cruella and had nearly killed Doug, she found herself wondering about certain things. She found herself beginning to understand the perspective of the Queens of Darkness towards the heroes… People like the Charmings wouldn’t be able to begin to understand where they were coming from. She looked at Regina knowing she had faced it all and come out of it a better person, a stronger woman than she used to be. But because of the life Lily had to face… the life she herself had faced, things did not come easily for them. Emma and Lily had to face many hardships and incidentally, it had affected them deeply. And ironically, it was all because of the Charmings and the poor choices they had made when it came to them. No doubt, Lily’s sister had faced some hardships too. It was their fault what happened to them. However, it did put Emma and Lily on the same path. Fate obviously had a wicked sense of humor especially since fate had led them to that store a long time ago so they would form a bond and become fast friends.

Soon, they arrived in New York and parked their car in front of the building where Robin Hood was staying with his ‘wife’ Marian. Emma noticed it was Neal’s old apartment.

Regina hoped they would be able to get Robin away from Zelena. She was still furious about the stunt her sister pulled and wanted to make her suffer for it. Emma and Regina got out of the car with Lily, not knowing that their lives were about to change drastically.

Emma sighed deeply as she looked at Regina. “Ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Regina muttered as they moved into the building.

“Robin Hood?” Lily realized suddenly the implications of what Emma shared with her regarding Robin Hood and Regina. “The Evil Queen has a thing for some tree hugger?!” Lily was trying to wrap her head around such a concept. She just couldn’t see it.

“Yep.” Emma nodded. “Tell me about it.” She knew what Lily was thinking about and had thought the exact same thing time and time again.

Regina knocked at the door and waited.


	3. Saving the Wicked-- To the rescue!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding Lily, Emma and Regina have arrived in NYC with the plan to rescue Robin Hood from Regina's half sister, Zelena the Wicked Witch of the West. The planned rescue turns out differently. Emma Swan to the rescue! Even though she doesn't want to be the proclaimed savior... She just can't seem to help herself can she?

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter Three

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. So we’re in New York about to rescue Robin from Zelena. Or are we? Let’s see what happens next. Drama perhaps… hmmm new revelations… so much to come from this chapter!!! For Lynkfan

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When Regina knocked on the door of the apartment Robin shared with his ‘wife’ Marian, the door opened, revealing a profusely sweaty and panting Robin Hood. The stench of alcohol hung in the air. Robin looked like he had been doing something very physical earlier. By the stench alone, clearly, he’d been drinking heavily. He had a deer caught in the headlights look about him. 

“Uhh Regina! What are you doing here?” He moved out of his apartment and tried closing the door as he reached out to Regina to hug her. Seeing the dark haired beauty there at the front door had both shocked him and made him happy to see her.

“Robin? What’s going on? Where’s…” Regina started. She was surprised by the way Robin was acting. It was very out of character of him and it looked like he was trying to hide something from them. Especially with the way he moved out and proceeded to close the door behind him rather than letting them in. She moved back, the stench of alcohol and sweat hitting her hard.

Before the door shut all the way, Emma heard a whimpering sound. Her protective instincts kicked in as alarms went off in her head. She reached out and stopped the door from closing and pushed it wide open as she stepped inside to investigate the source of the sound. Lily moved past Robin and Regina, following Emma inside. She had heard the sound too.

Robin tried to stop Emma from going into his apartment. “No! Don’t! It’s not…” He tried to move to block her but he was too late.

That was when Emma saw ‘Marian’ sitting on the kitchen floor with her legs pulled up protectively against her chest. She had a black eye, a busted lip and bruises and cuts all over her face and body in various colors and stages of healing. Some of the bruises looked older and a lot looked pretty fresh. Instantly, Emma knew what had happened. She’d seen this multiple times in her lifetime. Hell she even experienced some of it herself. “What the hell?!” Emma moved over to the injured woman and glared at Robin. “What the hell have you been doing to her?!” Everything that Regina told her about what Zelena had done went out the door replaced with the need and the desire to protect her. She didn’t know what came over her, just that she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her again.

Regina’s mouth opened in shock as she looked from Robin to the other woman on the floor. All the things she’d planned to say to Robin about her sister were forgotten for the moment. It didn’t register with her right away that this was in actuality her sister that Robin had obviously used as a punching bag. Seeing her as Marian had temporarily given her amnesia. She didn’t know what to say at the moment and was digesting everything. She finally looked at Robin seeing that something was amiss. “What happened here?” She asked.

Robin tried to act as if nothing had happened. He didn’t take responsibility for what he did to her. “She was cleaning the kitchen. She slipped and fell.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

Emma saw the way ‘Marian’ was glaring at Robin. She knew Robin was lying through his teeth. Her inner lie detector was blaring loudly. “Are you freaking kidding me?! She didn’t fall you asshole! You fucking did this to her!!!” She hissed, feeling anger building up inside.

Regina sighed, finally remembering what they were there for. “That woman is not your wife… that’s Zelena in disguise. Why would you do this to her?” Her mind started working again as she wondered why Robin would beat Marian up if she was supposed to be his wife. If Robin thought this was his wife why would he do this to someone he was supposed to love? Was all his talk of a code of honor all for nothing? She was trying to make sense out of what happened and was starting to wonder if she knew Robin as well as she thought.

‘Marian’ scoffed as she finally replied. “Oh he knows. That’s why he’s been beating me up. He’s awfully mad that I’m not you.” She spat angrily before she continued. “Yet he still knew when he screwed me. And now I’m pregnant.” She rubbed her abdomen, smirking when she saw Regina’s jaw drop in surprise at her revelation.

Emma was livid. Robin knew this wasn’t really Marian? Yet he still did what he did to her. What a bastard! She looked at Robin, glaring daggers at him. “How long have you known she was pregnant?”

Before Robin could answer, Regina swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at the broken woman. “You can stop pretending to be Marian. We know who you are, Zelena.” She then looked at Robin who had been strangely silent ever since. “Answer Emma’s question. How long did you know?” She couldn’t help the feeling of betrayal inside.

Marian touched her emerald necklace and transformed back into Zelena. She was glad she didn’t have to keep up with appearances now. She pulled herself up, wincing as she did so. She looked at Robin and watched to see what he would say about that. She wondered how they would react.

Robin looked at the redhead and then at the others, finally noticing Emma and Regina had another woman there with them. He didn’t know who she was. He then looked at Regina and sighed. “Six weeks. She’s almost three months pregnant.”

Seeing red, Emma stepped up and punched him HARD in the face much to the surprise of the women there. Lily grinned when Emma did that, smirking when Robin yelled and fell to the floor clutching at his nose, screaming expletives at her friend. She was getting a kick out of seeing Emma give it to him real good.

“Emma!!!” Regina gasped as she went to check on Robin and saw blood on his face. “You broke his nose!” The blonde seemed to have taken a liking to inflicting pain on men with her fists lately. First, it was the pirate, then Doug and now Robin. She sighed. She was going to have to have a talk with Emma about her anger issues later.

“Good!” Emma sneered. She wasn’t finished as she kicked Robin once before screaming at him. “You knew she was pregnant!!! And you beat her?! I don’t care if she’s Zelena and not your fucking wife!!! Regina or not, YOU SHOULD NEVER HIT A PREGNANT WOMAN!!!” She kicked him again.

Zelena was shocked to see Emma do that to Robin. She had never seen this side of Emma before and it surprised her to no end. Inside, she was screaming, :::YES EMMA!!!::: She wanted to cheer for what Emma was doing to that forest loving jackass. She loved it that Emma was doing this to the man who had made her life a living hell for the past three months. The redhead was looking at Emma through different eyes right now. Nobody had ever stood up for her before. Nobody had ever rescued her when she needed someone to save her. She remembered all the times she allowed her hatred for Regina to cloud her judgement when she went after Emma’s family. Yet now Emma was here standing up for her in front of Regina no less! It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, yet Zelena couldn’t help but feel guilt over what she did to Emma in the not so distant past. She still hated Regina. That hadn’t changed. But Emma… Zelena was feeling something new, something foreign yet strangely appealing bubbling up inside as she watched the blonde. “He knew it was me when he screwed me. And he forced me to be Marian whenever he needed to bed me. He started beating me, a week after we moved here. He said he wanted you here. He wished it was you he was screwing. I’m surprised he didn’t ask me to look like you when he forced himself inside me every chance he could.” She replied bitterly as she looked at Regina.

Emma’s hatred for the forest boy grew as she moved over to Zelena and put her arms around her shoulders, all the while she was giving Robin an icy cold look. Right now, she was feeling extremely protective of the redhead. “You’re coming with me. I won’t let him hurt you anymore.” She promised. She didn’t notice that Regina was watching her with a look of surprise on her face along with something else.

Regina was surprised to see what Emma was doing with her sister. She didn’t understand why she was doing this. It wasn’t so long ago that her sister had threatened Henry and Emma and her family. What in the world had gotten into Emma?

Robin broke Regina from her thoughts with an outburst. “I won’t let you take them from me!” Robin snarled. “That baby’s mine!!!”

Lily moved to stand with Emma and Zelena. “You should have thought of that when you decided to use her as a punching bag.” She scoffed.

Zelena looked at the other brunette, surprised that someone else was also standing up for her. A stranger nonetheless. Before she could say something, Emma was talking again.

Emma sneered at Robin. “Clearly you weren’t thinking of HER baby when you did this to her!!! You’re no man! What kind of a man would want to harm a woman carrying his child?! You’ll stay the hell away from them or I will break more than just your nose next time!” She really would.

“Emma what are you…” Regina started.

Robin interrupted. “She’s not your responsibility! She’s mine! She’s none of your business! Have you already forgotten what she did to your son, to your family?!” 

Lily gasped in surprise as she looked at Emma. “You have a kid?” She then looked at the redhead that Emma was protecting and wondered what exactly she had done to Emma and her family. She really didn’t care what happened to the Charmings. But when it came to Emma and her son, Lily cared. Oh yes she cared very much about them. She felt very protective of Emma and now that she found out Emma had a son, she was feeling protective of him too. All because of the bond she shared with Emma ever since they first met all these years ago. It was a bond that would never break. She narrowed her eyes at Zelena. She wanted to get to know Emma better after this, to re-establish their bond once more. They still had that special bond but she wanted another chance to have Emma in her life one way or another.

Emma continued glaring at Robin, standing firm. “We’re not here to talk about what Zelena did to MY son. We’re talking about what YOU did to her. She’s a mother now. That’s no excuse for what you did, beating her while you knew she was pregnant with your baby! There’s an innocent child growing inside her. When you beat her, you also hurt the baby. You’re lucky she didn’t miscarry because I guarantee you if she did, she’d find a way to kill you. A mother’s instinct is nothing you want to contend with if circumstances were different. You would kill to save your kid.”

Regina took a deep breath, remembering what happened with Henry. “Emma’s right. After all, she did kill Cruella when she threatened to throw our son off a cliff.” She knew there was darkness growing inside Emma even more now since she’d killed the bitch. That would explain why she was more than happy to use her fists lately.

Lily and Zelena looked at Emma with surprise. They were shocked to hear that Emma had killed someone. Especially Zelena. She realized how truly lucky she was that it had not been her who had faced that same fate when she had Henry in her grip like that. Lily was also surprised to hear that Emma shared a son with the Evil Queen. She would have to ask her about that later.

Robin looked at Emma. He had a hard time believing she would kill anyone. But then again, she did break his nose. After he’d reset his nose and quite painfully, he glared at the blonde. He wasn’t going to let her dictate whether or not he could be a part of Zelena or their baby’s life. But at the same time, he figured since Regina was there, he would pick things up with her when they got back to Storybrooke. But he would also make her see that she didn’t need anyone else but him and Roland. One way or another, Regina would be his. He promised himself.

Zelena decided that Emma was certainly someone she wanted to get to know better. She didn’t want to be on her bad side. Not anymore. She saw that Emma Swan had such fire inside her and she liked it very much. She rather enjoyed seeing Emma break Robin’s nose. Right now she was replaying that scenario over and over again, in her mind. It was so very satisfying. It had turned her on. She looked at Emma, liking how it felt to be in her arms like this. She looked at Regina and smirked at her, wondering if that was jealousy she saw in her sister’s eyes.

Emma looked at Regina and Lily, before rubbing Zelena’s shoulder reassuredly. “We’re taking Zelena with us to Storybrooke. So Zelena, is there anything you need help packing up?” She wanted to help the redhead, seeing she was injured, she wasn’t about to let her do everything herself. She didn’t want to give Robin a chance to be with her alone to threaten her again.

Regina sighed. “You do realize this is my sister we’re talking about? Are you sure you want her back in Storybrooke, knowing what she is capable of? She prides herself at being Wicked.” She reminded her.

Emma shrugged as she looked at the redhead and smiled at her. “Everyone deserves a second chance. She’s your family. Are you sure you want her to raise this baby alone? Robin clearly is not fit for fatherhood. Where’s Roland anyways?” She asked.

Zelena replied. “He’s with our sitter. I didn’t want him here knowing his father was going to be drunk and that when he’s drunk, he beats me. Which is pretty much most of the time. I didn’t want Roland to see his father like that. He already asks me why I’m always getting hurt. Robin always tells him stories about what a klutz I am. A couple of times, he’s already caught his father hitting me and has tried to defend me…” She sighed and looked down. “Robin pushed him back hard and he fell and hit his head on the corner of the coffee table. We had to take him to the hospital to get stitches. Robin forced me to stay in the car, not wanting anyone to ask questions about why I was covered in cuts and bruises. I told Robin if I ever got back to Storybrooke, I would kill him.” She glared at the man with such hatred in her eyes. She knew in the land of no magic, she couldn’t defend herself. But in Storybrooke, Robin would have to watch his back. He made her his enemy when he decided to treat her like his punching bag.

If Emma had despised Robin before, she did even more so now. Roland didn’t deserve to have a drunk for a father. Or someone who was involved with inflicting violence on his ‘mother’. Zelena might have been wicked, but even she didn’t deserve what happened to her. “Come on, let’s get your things and pack a bag for Roland too.”

Zelena nodded. But before they went to start packing, she called the sitter and told her to bring Roland over.

Regina had gasped with dismay when she heard what her sister said about what happened with Roland. She had a hard time believing Robin would ever hurt his son. But then again, alcohol was a factor in the way he acted. Or so she thought. What had happened to this man? He wasn’t the Robin she thought she knew. She decided to go help Emma and Zelena pack up some of their things. 

Lily stayed behind, thinking about everything she’d learned about Emma, Regina, and now Robin and Zelena. Shit. She thought to herself. What a huge mess they’d gotten into. She watched Robin, admiring Emma’s handiwork. She’d smirked at the asshole.

Robin didn’t like the way the other brunette was looking at him. It made him feel very uncomfortable. He decided to go take a shower and change his clothes before he started packing up his belongings.

Lily was there when the sitter came with the cutest little boy she had ever seen. She smiled at him and gave the sitter the money Zelena left for her. “Hey kid, I’m Lily, Emma’s friend. Your parents are packing and you’re going back to Storybrooke. How does that sound?” She could see the bandage on his head and hated it that his drunk of a father would do something like that to him.

Roland looked at her and nodded. “Daddy’s mean to Mommy. I wanna go with mommy.” He had a pout on his face. He didn’t know Lily but liked her anyways. He offered her a smile. “I’m Roland.” He smiled.

Regina came out with Roland’s bag all packed and ready when she heard him. She smiled at Roland who ran into her arms the moment he saw her. She went from smiling, happy to see him, to worried when she saw the bandage on his head. There was a bruise around the bandage. “Oh Roland!” She hugged him and looked up when Robin returned, wearing a change of clean clothes and carrying a bag.

Robin grinned when he saw Roland with Regina. The sight that greeted him was one he wanted to happen more than anything. He wanted Regina to be the mother of his son. He wanted them to be a family.

Regina did not smile back at Robin. She looked at Roland. “How about I ride with you and your daddy? Your father and I need to talk. I promise it’s going to be okay.”

Roland nodded. He felt better when he was with Regina or with his mommy. He knew his mommy looked different at times, but she was good to him. He didn’t want to be alone with daddy. Not when he was mean or drunk. “Okay.” He nodded as he held onto her.

Lily looked at Regina. “He’s afraid of his father.” She informed her.

Robin snapped at Lily. “Mind your own business!!!”

Regina looked at Robin, not liking his attitude. She’d felt the way Roland stiffened in her arms, at the sound of his father’s voice. She rubbed his back, soothing him.

Emma returned with Zelena, having finished helping her with her stuff. Regina informed them she would be driving Roland and Robin back to Storybrooke. Emma didn’t like the idea of Regina being with Robin, but knew she would be okay as long as Roland was there with them and Robin was too drunk to be driving anyways. She also knew Robin wouldn’t think of hurting Regina. “Let’s go.” They returned the keys to the landlord and she helped Zelena get into the back seat of Emma’s bug as Lily got into the front with Emma.

Regina drove behind them, not wanting Robin to drive while intoxicated. She made sure he sat in the back while Roland sat up front with her so Robin could sleep off the alcohol he’d consumed earlier.

Zelena looked at Lily and Emma, she couldn’t help but to start noticing some things about them from this angle. They had similar bone structures, same hands, same cheekbones, same noses, the eye shape was the same. Except one was dark and one was light. She thought they could pass for sisters. “So how do you two know each other?” She asked, curious about this new person she had yet to meet.

Emma and Lily smiled at each other. “This is Lily. She is Maleficent’s daughter and my childhood friend. Maleficent asked me to find her and bring her back. When I found out it was Lily, I dropped everything and went to find her.” Emma began.

Lily continued. “We were best friends. I’d like to be again.” She informed Emma before looking at Zelena. “She was my partner in crime. Emma and I got into all kinds of trouble together.” She smirked. Those were the best times of her life.

Zelena couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the blonde. She noticed Emma watching her through the rearview mirror and blushed slightly. “Emma? Trouble? I never thought I would hear two words in the same sentence.” Zelena smiled before wincing when she felt her lip threaten to split open again.

Emma laughed. “Yeah! That was us. Two peas in a pod, those were fun times.” She winked. Her wrist started itching again. “Best friends, thick as thieves.” She smirked, looking at the brunette next to her.

Lily then took the opportunity to ask Emma some questions. “So you have a kid? How did that happen? You share him with the Evil Queen?” She asked.

Emma nodded as she got serious. “I met this guy after I ran away from my last foster family. I was tired of being shuffled around from foster home to foster home a couple times a year. Having enough of the foster care system, I left. I was seventeen years old. He was much older than I was. But I told him I wasn’t interested in him. Not that way. I just didn’t swing that way,” she shook her head.

Zelena’s eyebrows rose at that tidbit. She found it interesting and smiled at this new knowledge.

Emma continued with her story. “One night, we had too much to drink. He decided to take advantage of how much alcohol I had consumed that night in order to have sex with me. Even though he knew I wasn’t interested in men, he’d taken advantage of me and claimed he was just lonely and needed release. He never used a condom that night. I was drunk, young, and naive. I woke up the next day fuzzy about what happened the night before. He admitted what he had done to me. I was pissed off of course, and disgusted with him. We never had sex again. Later, I ended up doing a favor for Neal. That’s what he said his name was. And I put this bag of items in a locker for him. He gave me a watch. I ended up arrested and in handcuffs, carted off to prison for a crime I never committed. Neal vanished, never to be found again. He set me up. I ended up in prison, alone and pregnant. I gave birth to my son behind bars. I had no choice but to give him up for adoption because I wouldn’t be out in time to raise him the way I’d hoped. Instead, he ended up being adopted by Regina. Talk about fate. Ten years later, he found out about me, ran away from home, came to Boston where I was living… he found me, and had come with a stolen credit card which he swiped from Mary Margaret who was his teacher… that’s…”

“Snow White.” They replied together at the same time.

Lily laughed. “So your kid pulled a classic Emma Swan move? The same move I taught you?” She smirked. “Way to go kid!” She grinned at the irony of it all.

Emma snorted. “I guess he did. Well he brought me to Storybrooke and told me this story about how his adoptive mother was the Evil Queen. Of course I didn’t believe him at first.” She shook her head. “But yeah, that’s how I met Regina. And we got off to a rocky start, butted heads a lot at the beginning.”

Lily nodded. “But still, that asshole Neal, what he did to you, I’d kill him for what he put you through.” She didn’t like what he did to Emma and it showed.

Zelena harrumphed from the back seat. “I already did that. Didn’t know the story of how Henry came to be…” She grimaced. “Sorry I didn’t know you’ve been in prison. Well in that case, I’m real glad I killed him for you sugar.” She sighed, feeling she was still learning a lot about Emma, like the fact she had been a foster kid. “I guess you never found a family if you ran away at seventeen?” She asked.

Emma shook her head. “Nope. Came close once, but I never stuck around long enough to find a family who wanted me. They kept sending me back. Said I was more trouble than I was worth. Nobody wanted me. Nobody could handle someone like me. They didn’t want someone like me to be their daughter.”

Lily reached out and took a hold of Emma’s hand. “I’m sorry Em. I know I didn’t make it easy for you either. I did get you kicked out of two or three homes. I can’t help but think that was my fault.” She grimaced at the memory.

Zelena swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. Emma had been abandoned all her life? Countless times, from what it sounded like. It made her own story seem like small potatoes compared to Emma’s story. But at the same time, she was realizing they had more in common after all. They’d both been unwanted from the time they were babies.

Emma sighed, giving Lily’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “No Lily, it’s not your fault. I was a kid when I said it was. But that’s because I wanted a family so bad. Yeah, you lied to me, but I’d forgiven you for that when I realized I may have been too hasty when pushing you away. I wish I never did that. I would have much rather kept you as my best friend had I known I wouldn’t ever find what I was looking for. You made my life so much worth living when we first crossed paths. If I could redo one moment in my life, it would be that day. I would take back my words and I would have run away with you. You’re my best friend Lily Page. Now and forever.”

Lily grinned when Emma said that. It took off the huge weight that had been on her shoulders ever since that day of their last fight. It had haunted her days for so long. But now here Emma was declaring their bond of friendship. She felt as if her world had taken a turn for the better now that Emma was back in her life again. “And you’re my best friend, Emma Swan. Now and forever.” She declared in return. They held hands grinning until they broke away and began scratching their wrists furiously at the same time. “What the…”

The welcome to Storybrooke sign came into view as they crossed the tow line. The moment they did, Emma slammed her foot on the brakes and the yellow bug came to a screeching halt, turning sideways and almost hitting the sign.

Both Emma and Lily doubled over as magic flooded through them. Emma had expected that to happen, but had not expected for it to be this strong or powerful. The magic filled them in ways that surpassed the magic Emma had before, turning into something so incredibly powerful. It just poured into their pores, into their very core. They practically glowed with it.

Zelena finally got her magic back and when she did, she was able to heal her own injuries. She looked at Emma and Lily, watching them with interest, seeing that something very big was happening with them. She could sense truly powerful magic coming from them. Much more than she had ever seen Emma having before. The force of it surprised her.

Emma and Lily both moaned in surprise at the intensity of the magic flooding through them, filling them in ways that had never happened before. Their wrists burned and glowed. Emma’s eyes widened in surprise as she held her own hand, wrist facing her as she saw a glowing shape of the crescent moon staring up at her.

Lily gasped in surprise as she raised her own hand, bringing it next to Emma’s and it showed the glowing star on her wrist as she turned to look at Emma, realizing suddenly, the true meaning of the crimson marks burning on their wrists. All her life, she’d had the star birthmark and when the Apprentice told her what to look for when she would be reunited with her sister, she had not expected for her to come in the form of Emma Swan. Tears began falling down her cheeks. Both of their eyes were glowing neon green. “Emma! You’re my sister!”

Just then, Regina pulled to a stop next to Emma’s car. She rolled down the window just as Robin sat up in the back seat, rubbing at his eyes. “You alright Emma?” She asked.

Emma’s eyes watered as she looked at Lily, remembering the story Lily had shared with her about what the Apprentice said. How both sisters would bear the marks of the moon and the star. She had so many burning questions as she wondered how the hell she ended up being the daughter of the Charmings if they were not her real parents. That would mean Maleficent was actually her mother. Her jaw opened and closed a couple of times in shock as she digested what had happened. She almost didn’t hear Regina asking her a question. The power she felt burning inside was was giving her a resounding YES!!! Telling her that Lily was indeed her twin sister. She inhaled deeply, realizing she could smell things much clearly, even from miles away. The same could be said about her hearing. She could hear their hearts beating in unison. Her vision was crystal clear. “Lily!!!” She felt her sister grab her and hug her tightly as they finally reunited as sisters. Their wrists still glowing a bright crimson red.

Regina gasped, seeing that something had clearly changed. She looked at Zelena. “What’s going on?” She also noticed that Zelena no longer had a busted lip or black eyes. There was no mark to be seen on her body. She supposed it was a result of crossing the town line. She’d also gotten her magic back now that they were back in Storybrooke.

Zelena smiled brightly, still in awe of what had happened. “Emma just found out she isn’t a Charming. She and Lily are actually sisters.” She smirked, seeing Regina’s jaw drop. “Look at their wrists. That’s the proof you need.”

Regina was so surprised as she looked at their wrists. She had no idea Emma was Maleficent’s daughter all along. She knew then that the older Dragon was going to be in for the surprise of her life. She took out her phone and called Mal. When she got through, she replied. “Hey Mal, it’s me. We’re back and so are both your daughters. You’ll never believe it… we’re on our way to Granny’s. Oh you are? Alright, see you soon.” She ended the call as she looked at the reunited sisters. She couldn’t take her eyes off the marks on their wrists. “I just told your mother we made it back. She’s waiting at Granny’s. We’d better get going.” She would need to get used to the fact that Emma was Maleficent’s daughter and not the Charmings’. A part of her was looking forward to seeing the look on their faces when they found out Emma was in no way, their daughter. It put a smile on her face.

Emma shared a look with Lily, still in shock over what happened as they got going. Soon, they drove into town. Emma saw Maleficent standing outside of Granny’s and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She parked the car and they got out and helped Zelena out as well.

Maleficent had a nervous smile on her face as she saw Emma get out of her car and then she saw Lily for the first time. She could see Emma was nervous about something. She wondered where her other daughter was and gasped as she began connecting the dots. She remembered her other daughter was a blonde. She eyed Emma and began to get suspicious. Was she? Could it be? She hoped so, so she could use that against the Charmings too.

As Maleficent prepared to meet her daughters, the Charmings had arrived at the same time and were hoping that Emma would be calm enough now to talk with them and resolve their issues.

Lily gave the Charmings a truly cold look that could kill, wanting more than anything to destroy them on the spot. Just then, she saw Snow White reach out to Emma. She almost growled, prepared to defend her sister but Emma steered Lily away from them, not wanting to deal with them right now.

The moment Mary Margaret moved up to Emma, the blonde stiffened up. “NO!” She glared at her before she brought Lily over to Maleficent. She struggled with what to say to this woman who was her birth mother. “Uhmm this is your daughter, Lily…”

Maleficent looked at Lily and smiled. Before she did anything else, she inhaled deeply and could smell her daughters. Both of them. Her eyes widened as she began realizing a few things. She looked at Emma and Lily, noticing they smelled alike. “What…” she began, wanting answers to her suspicions. They had been right! She exhaled and couldn’t help herself as she turned to look at the Charmings. She wanted to laugh, to rub it in their faces.

Lily looked at Emma and smiled as she showed Maleficent the star on her wrist and then she took a hold of Emma’s hand and turned it, showing their mother the crescent moon Emma now bore.

Maleficent’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the telltale marks on their wrists. She remembered seeing them when Gold showed them to her as babies. She could also smell their dragons. She knew without doubt, they were both her daughters. Her questions would have to wait. All she wanted, all she needed right now was to hold her babies in her arms. She opened her arms and pulled both Emma and Lily into her arms and held them tightly, kissing their cheeks and memorizing their scents. “Oh my babies!!! My beautiful babies!!! I love you so much!” She gasped as a tear broke free and fell down her cheek as she held them in her arms, not wanting to let go of them again.

Emma allowed herself to sink into her mother’s embrace, feeling Lily do the same as they inhaled deeply in unison, wanting to memorize their mother’s scent as well. Suddenly, they felt the bond between mother and daughters and it bound them closer, making them feel secure and loved in their mother’s arms. Emma and Lily were able to finally let go of any reservations they’d felt before. Their walls came down as they reunited with their mother, reveling in their mother’s scent. They were finally home with her.

Regina smiled, watching her old friend reuniting with her daughters. Just then, the Charmings came up to her.

“What the hell is Maleficent doing with our daughter?!” Mary Margaret asked. She wanted to get Emma away from the Dragon and her demon spawns…. she frowned, wondering where Maleficent’s other daughter was. She was so sure Maleficent had poisoned Emma against them.


	4. Saving the Wicked-- Scent of Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Maleficent reunites with her daughters, trouble ensues thanks to the idiot David Nolan who went behind the Sheriff's back, not once but twice! After getting himself into a situation he cannot get out of, things start to heat up between the Savior and the Wicked Witch... Looks like love is blooming. Regina and Ruby have a long talk before Regina sits down with Henry and tells him what happened.

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter Four

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. Well now Maleficent has her girls back and Zelena is back in town with Robin and Roland. What kinds of trouble will she get into now that she’s back? Will she carry out her threat against Robin? Will she be stopped? What will Emma do? How will Regina react to what the Savior does next? How does Mal and Lily react to the Charmings? Who let Hook out?! Oops!!!  
For Lynkfan

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Regina narrowed her eyes at Mary Margaret before giving her a truly smug smile. Oh yes she was most definitely getting a kick out of this. “Looks to me like they’re celebrating a family reunion.”

Mary Margaret continued frowning, distracted from her thoughts. “I thought Maleficent had two daughters. Where’s her other one?” She kept looking trying to figure out where she was hiding.

David looked at his wife, as he finished talking on his cellphone. “I need to take care of something back at the station.” He kissed her cheek before looking at Regina and frowning at the sight of Emma with Maleficent. He didn’t understand why his daughter was getting very close with the Dragon. He wanted to know what was happening, but at the same time, he also wanted to take care of a more pressing matter before anyone else noticed. He took off, moving quickly. He wanted to tie up the loose ends first before rejoining his family and attempting to work things out with his daughter.

Regina started at Mary Margaret, still feeling smug. “She most certainly does. I’ll let you think about that for a while.” She smirked and then looked around, wondering where Robin went off to. She then soon came to the realization that Robin wasn’t the only one missing. She gave a start when she noticed Zelena was as well. She couldn’t help but remember that her sister had threatened to kill Robin as soon as they got back to Storybrooke. It worried Regina.

Ruby came out of the Diner when she became curious about what was happening. She looked over to the side, noticing Emma had returned as had Regina but oddly enough Maleficent and Emma were hugging each other with another woman she assumed was Maleficent’s daughter. She sniffed the air and suddenly understood what was happening. It shocked her. She moved to join Regina and Mary Margaret. “How come Emma smells like…” she started, but was cut off by Regina abruptly. “What?”

“Robin’s missing and so is my sister. I need to find them. Can you sniff them out?” Regina asked, worried that she would find Robin dead. But at the same time, she had not wanted Ruby to give it away that Emma smelled like the Dragon. Not just yet. She wanted Mary Margaret to figure that out on her own. She wanted her to stew in it for a while longer.

Mary Margaret‘s eyes widened as she realized they were onto something. “Um well… David’s… He’s arrested the wicked witch.” She replied a bit too excitedly. Almost as if she were sharing a secret she couldn’t keep.

Ruby was surprised to hear they were both back in town. “What about Emma? She’s the sheriff. Shouldn’t she be told about the Witch being arrested?” She knew it was Emma’s business to know what was happening in their town especially since she was the sheriff. She wondered why David had not bothered to tell his dau… Emma what he was going to do with Zelena.

Regina had mixed feelings about the fact they had arrested her sister. How had David known to arrest Zelena? She narrowed her eyes at the dark haired petite woman. She was the Mayor and as such, should know everything that was going on in her town. She didn’t like being the last one to know something important as that. Especially where Zelena was concerned. She was her sister whether or not she liked it. Regardless, it was her business to know what they were up to. “You knew didn’t you? That’s why you came here to distract me. Who. Told. You about my sister?” She stared at Mary Margaret, expecting an answer from her.

“What? I… No I didn’t…” Mary Margaret stuttered as she tried to talk her way out of it. She was acting way too obvious. “Why would you um… but she’s the Wicked witch!!!” She stammered.

Regina rolled her eyes and scoffed, not believing a word she said. Not for one minute. “You forget dear, I am the Mayor! What happens with my sister is MY business AND the sheriff ‘s business.” She hissed. It was time to do something about this situation. She stepped around Mary Margaret and moved over to where Emma was with Maleficent and Lily. “Emma…”

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Emma, Lily and Maleficent were bonding as a family, happy to be reunited after all these years. Maleficent wanted to get to know her daughters better and the girls promised to fill their mother in on everything that happened. They would once things calmed down and they were alone without prying eyes. Emma knew she would need to introduce Henry to his grandmother and aunt soon.

Mary Margaret tried to stop Regina from getting to Emma and draw her attention. She knew Emma always had a tendency to rush off saving everyone, including those Villains. That much was obvious when Emma had opted to run off with Regina to save Maleficent’s daughters. She felt bitter that Emma would choose to do that rather than stay and work things out the way a family should. It irritated her when she noticed an ongoing pattern with her daughter. 

First, she sided with Regina and rescued her numerous times. Then when Elsa came into town, she offered to help her find her sister. She had not trusted Elsa or her wicked aunt Ingrid. When the Shattered Sight spell was cast, she had not understood why Emma would go out of her way to help Ingrid. She’d been a little jealous knowing that Ingrid had been Emma’s foster mother once upon a time. And then when the Queens of Darkness came… especially Maleficent, Emma had gone out of her way to help reunite Maleficent with her daughters. She still couldn’t figure out who her other daughter was. And now that Zelena was here… she’d heard how Emma had gotten protective of that Wicked Witch and she wasn’t happy about that. Not after what Zelena put their family through. 

Enough was enough and she wasn’t having any of it. She hoped that Emma would have the common sense to leave things alone with that witch. “No please! She doesn’t need to… know…” she met the steely gaze of her daughter. She knew then that her daughter had heard what she said. Mary Margaret closed her eyes and cursed under her breath, wondering why she had to put her foot in her mouth and drive a bigger wedge between herself and her daughter. Especially since Emma was still mad about the whole thing that happened with Maleficent and her daughters.

Emma looked over at Regina. “What’s going on?” After hearing what Mary Margaret said, her hackles rose. More secrets? She didn’t trust that woman. Not anymore. Not since she found out the hand she played in what happened with Mal… her mother and sister and herself. She glared at the petite woman who had been her mother for the past four years. She heard Lily growl.

Regina brushed Mary Margaret off. “Emma, we have a problem. David’s gone and arrested my sister.”

Emma looked at the mayor and sighed. For some reason, ever since she and Lily had come back to Storybrooke and crossed the town line, she’d discovered she could read magic users’ minds along with those with shapeshifting abilities. She could see that Regina was debating with herself on whether or not arresting Zelena was a good thing. She could understand where she was coming from. She continued glaring at Mary Margaret. She spotted movement over her shoulder and noticed Hook was free and was standing there, watching them. He had the nerve to blow her a kiss and wink, looking smug about it. 

“What the hell is that pirate doing out of his cell?! I’m the damned sheriff. You’re supposed to let me know when… And now Zelena?!” She inhaled sharply. “You know what… this is NOT your job! I will deal with this myself!!!” She growled as she left for the station, Lily followed her, curious about her sister’s intentions.

Before Maleficent went with her daughters, she looked at Mary Margaret and sneered at her. “I haven’t forgotten about you and your Charming. We will deal with you two soon enough. I cannot wait to make you suffer and that will be so much fun to do.” She gave her an evil smile before she moved to join Lily and Emma.

Mary Margaret frowned. “Since when does Maleficent like to follow my daughter around? She has no right! Neither does that demon spawn of hers!” She huffed before storming off, wanting to take Neal home first.

Ruby was surprised to hear what Snow was saying about Maleficent’s daughters. When Snow left, she turned to look at Regina. “Doesn’t she know what she just called Emma? I can smell her. She doesn’t smell anything like them.”

Regina sighed as she looked at the werewolf. “She doesn’t know that Emma isn’t their daughter. She’s…”

“A Dragon. Yeah I noticed.” Ruby nodded as she followed Regina to the sheriff's station. Her shift was over and she’d worked at the station temporarily while Emma and Regina went to find and bring back Lily. She was still digesting the fact Emma was actually Maleficent’s daughter and had Lily as her sister. She knew they were sisters by the way they smelled. Actually, she’d noticed Emma was different from the first time she met her, but had not said anything about it then. It wasn’t her place and she knew what Snow was like. She had not noticed Emma was actually a Dragon all along until now. When she came back, everything became so much more clearer and things were starting to make more sense to her.

When Emma arrived at the station, she was appalled to see that Zelena was currently in a cell and to top it off, wearing a magical barring bracelet that one of the dwarves crafted and put on her. Robin was standing there with a very arrogant smile on his face. The bastard! She growled with displeasure.

Emma then turned and glared at David who had already processed the arrest and had her fingerprints put into the system. Seeing red, she stormed up to him. “What the hell do you think you’ve done?! What reason do you have for putting Zelena in that cell?!”

David replied, “Fraud and threatening to murder Robin. Not to forget everything she’s done to our family!!!”

Emma scoffed. “Technically, she died. Rumpelstiltskin killed her, remember? And that was when she was supposed to be in our care. Now she’s back and that makes it double jeopardy for you. Legally, she did her time when she died. Just because she came back, masquerading as Marian during her time here… That doesn’t count as she didn’t go out of her way to hurt anyone physically. As for what Robin said about her, you cannot keep her here based on what he said! It’s his word against hers! That’s not enough to keep her here! She was assaulted by HIM!!! He beat her throughout the entire time she stayed with him, trapped and not able to get away from that bastard…”

David shook his head, not believing her. “She doesn’t have a mark on her. She’s not fit to be that baby’s mother. Yeah Robin told me about the baby. She should stay here until the baby is born and then Robin can take the…” David replied.

“Oh hell no!!!” Emma scoffed as she shook her head and strode over to stand by the cell Zelena was in. “In New York Zelena had a black eye, a busted lip and numerous bruises and cuts all over her body. I saw it with my own eyes. So did Lily. So did Regina. You’d take his word over mine? We’re witnesses to what he did to her. He tried to lie his way out of it… inner lie detector remember?” She smirked when she saw the indecision in his eyes. “Did you see Roland? Did you know Robin pushed him roughly when he was drunk? Roland walked in on Robin beating Zelena black and blue and bleeding did he tell you THAT?! Roland fell and hit his head trying to defend her!!! He had to get stitches!!! Still believe Robin’s fit to be that baby’s father knowing he beat her while he knew she was pregnant with his child?!” 

“She took my son. She almost killed yours…” David started. He could not believe Emma was defending the Wicked Witch of the West. Why was she being so defensive or protective of the bitch who kidnapped his son moments after being born and had harmed Emma’s son? He couldn’t understand it at all. It just didn’t make any sense to him. “Why are you being so protective of HER?!” He pointed an accusing finger at Zelena who was watching them fight over her, and taking pleasure at it. He glared at the redhead before continuing. “Why does she deserve to have you defending her… that bitch?!” He spat, hating the way Zelena was smiling smugly at him.

Emma stared him down. She knew what he was asking, but didn’t have the answer for him. She couldn’t explain it. It was as if something had taken a hold of her and made her see Zelena as who she really was. That redhead intrigued her. She was very compelling to her and she didn’t know why. All she knew was she needed to protect her, needed to have her like she never needed anyone else before. Something inside her was driving her towards Zelena. Fate perhaps? Or something more? Something powerful… she looked at Zelena and blinked. Yes something was at work here. 

She saw the way Zelena smiled at her and found herself smiling back before she looked back at David. “That’s between me and Zelena. And what the hell is Hook doing out of Jail?! You let him out? Behind my back?!” Emma was furious that David acted like he was the boss when clearly she was. “He belongs in THAT cell!!! Not Zelena.” She turned to glare at Robin who had clearly gone behind Emma’s back and used David in order to imprison Zelena. “And so does he!!!”

“Well you weren’t here so I said he could go…” David tried to explain the reason for his actions. “You know Killian loves you. Your mother and I just wanted you to…”

“The fuck you did! I don’t care! I’m the damned sheriff, not you! It’s my call to make. Not yours!!!” Emma growled as she got into his face. “Take your badge off. Give me your gun.” She was seething mad.

Regina couldn’t help but to smile as Zelena did. She never thought hiring David to work under Emma was a smart decision to make in the first place. She couldn’t help but be glad Emma was using her head.

Robin moved in front of Emma, getting into her face and disrupting Regina’s train of thoughts with the next words that came out of his mouth. “No. You can’t do that! You have no right! Women shouldn’t have that kind of power…”

Regina gave Robin an incredulous look when he said that. “Excuse me?” She couldn’t believe what she heard Robin say. She crossed her arms and stared at him, wondering what was going on with him and wondering if she really knew him at all.

David’s jaw dropped at the audacity of Emma talking to him like that. “I’m your father! That’s no way to be speaking to me! I deserve more respect than that!” He wondered what had gotten into his daughter and suspected that perhaps Zelena had put a spell on her.

Maleficent laughed when she heard what David said. She knew better. But at the same time, she suspected she knew why Emma was being very protective of the redhead.

Lily sneered at David and scoffed. “You think?” She had a smug smile on her face.

Emma snapped as she waved her hand and sent Robin flying into the opposite wall. “You didn’t raise me. Remember?” She deadpanned as she glared at David. “Don’t make me ask you twice!!” She growled, her hands turned into fists as she resisted the urge to use them yet again.

David huffed angrily as he tossed his badge and gun onto the desk before he stormed off with Robin scrambling after him before Emma had the chance to arrest him for assault. Emma took a deep breath before she took the badge and gun and looked at Ruby. “You want his job?” She asked. She trusted Ruby more than she trusted David. Emma sighed, knowing she would have to deal with Robin sooner or later.

Ruby sputtered, surprised at what Emma was offering. At first, she was worried that Snow would be mad at her for taking her husband’s job. But at the same time, she really needed the extra money and was willing to work there part time so she could help Granny with the diner and bed and breakfast. A small part of her wanted to stick it to Snow for what she called Maleficent and her daughters. Ruby found displeasure at what Snow had said about them, especially Emma. “Don’t mind if I do.” She nodded and smiled when Emma gave her the gun and badge. She knew she would deal with Snow sooner or later. There were so many things she wanted to say to her. She didn’t know where things would stand between them afterwards. But there were things that needed to be said.

Emma moved to the cell and proceeded to let Zelena out. She wasn’t about to let her redhead stay there any longer than she had to.

“Em-ma, are you sure this is wise? What if my sister decides to turn against you, against us all…” Regina looked at her sister who was sneering at her.

Zelena replied snidely, “You’d like that wouldn’t you, sis?” She smirked as she stepped out of her cell. She had thoroughly enjoyed the way Emma defended her to that damned idiot and to Robin. And now Emma wasn’t letting Regina stop her either. The Sheriff continued to surprise her. She was certainly her savior. She found herself smiling smugly at her sister.

Emma looked at Regina as she moved closer to Zelena. “I’m not worried. Everyone deserves a second chance. Like I said.”

Zelena smiled at the blonde and licked her lips sensually. “Even the Wicked?” She smiled flirtatiously at Emma much to the chagrin of the Mayor of Storybrooke. She swore she could feel her sister staring daggers at her and it only served to make her happy. She didn’t give a damn what Regina thought. 

Emma smiled at the Wicked Witch, taking ahold of her hand and inspecting the bracelet she wore. “Especially the Wicked.” She winked at the redhead as they left the station and went to look for the dwarf responsible for putting the magic binding bracelet on Zelena’s wrist. She wasn’t happy that David had undermined her authority as the Sheriff of Storybrooke. He’d crossed the line and created more problems for her to deal with. She had not noticed the way Regina was looking at their hands as they left the station.

Maleficent shared a knowing smile with Lily as they followed Emma and Zelena. Lily began wondering what the deal was with her sister and with that Witch. Maleficent chuckled softly, having heard her daughter’s thoughts. *I suspect your sister has found her mate. Dragons tend to be extremely protective of their mates and family.* she also thought back to when she heard what David said about Zelena hurting Emma’s son. She would need to find out more about that later. Especially since it had become clear that Emma had chosen Zelena to be her mate.

Lily’s eyes widened when she realized she could communicate with her mother telepathically. “Well that’s something isn’t it? I mean with the rocky past Emma has with Zelena.” she whispered.

Emma kept her cool, having heard her mother and sister speak using their link with each other. It made her think about things that happened ever since they got Zelena out of that apartment she’d shared with Robin. True, they had a rocky past. But then again, things had changed ever since she saved Zelena. She’d felt it when she held Zelena in her arms. She’d seen the look of remorse in her eyes and had known it then. She knew right then and there, that she would never let anyone hurt Zelena or her unborn child. Was it true? Was she protective of Zelena because she’d somehow chosen her to be her mate? She’d wanted to protect her from the moment she had stepped into that apartment.

Zelena knew there were things that would need to change. They needed to talk and soon. She looked down at the hand that she was holding and smiled, feeling her heartbeat quicken at the sight. She loved the way it felt to be holding hands with her Savior. She found herself biting her lip as she thought about everything that led to this moment in her life. She had a feeling things were changing for them and realized she was falling hard for the blonde. Yet at the same time, she had so much remorse for what she put Emma and Henry through. It was a new feeling she had, and she didn’t like it. Simply put, it hurt! 

Zelena hoped she wasn’t too late to try making amends with them. She had every intention to make it up to them one way or another. She was going to do whatever it took to make things right with them. Especially Henry. Now that she was going to be a mother, her maternal instincts were coming out in spades. The last thing she ever wanted to do was disappoint her child. She didn’t want to fail him or her. She wouldn’t do to them what Cora Mills did to her. Ever since she had gotten to know Roland, she’d found herself developing feelings for him. Even though she had never given birth to him, she had a soft spot for him. And since he had defended her honor several times, she knew there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for him. Motherhood clearly had changed her for the better. And now she was falling in love with Emma Swan, she wanted to prove to her that they could be happy together. She would do it, starting with Henry and getting him to forgive her, and if he was anything like his blond mother, hopefully he would give her a second chance.

########

Ruby looked at Regina. “You look like you’re in need of someone to talk with. Is everything okay?” She asked.

Regina sighed deeply. Seeing the way Zelena had walked off with Emma, looking like she was cozying up with her… it was bothering her more than she was willing to admit. She shook her head. “No. I just need to talk with Robin and find out what the hell is going on with him. Can you believe he’s been beating my sister up?” She was trying to wrap her head around this man Robin had turned out to be. She didn’t like it one bit.

########

Emma found Doc and cornered him. “Did you do this?” She gestured to Zelena’s wrist.

Doc nodded. “I did upon the Prince’s orders. Robin requested it of us so when your father gave me the go ahead, I did what I was told.” He looked nervously at Zelena. “I thought the wicked witch was supposed to be in jail.”

Emma stared him down. “David doesn’t have the authority to do something like this…” The dwarf interrupted her.

“But he is the Prince. We must adhere to his laws.” Doc insisted.

Emma scoffed. “Not in this world! You’re not in the damned Enchanted Forest! This is MY world and here I am the sheriff!!! I am the law. Not your damned Prince. You will take this off her wrist right now.”

Doc stood his ground. “Is that any way to talk about your father? You’re awfully disrespectful and an ungrateful brat! He should take you over his knee and…”

Emma grabbed the dwarf by his throat. “I’ve got news for you…” Her eyes began to glow neon green. “Your Prince Charming… He isn’t…” She sneered as she got into his face. The dwarf paled considerably. Emma continued, “My father. Now you will take this bracelet off this pretty lady’s wrist… or I will feed you to my mother for your insubordination.” Emma smirked as she turned to look at Maleficent.

Doc’s eyes followed hers and he began to tremble in her grip. The Dragon was her mother? But… He gulped and whimpered. This wasn’t Emma. It couldn’t be. Not when she was the daughter of his beloved Snow White and her Prince Charming. This had to be an imposter.

Maleficent smiled darkly as she stalked forward as if to prepare to be fed. Lily laughed. She loved the way Emma was dealing with the imp and was getting a kick out of it.

The redhead loved what her Emma was doing to that munchkin. Zelena grinned as she held her hand out for Doc. “Yes please. It’s starting to itch like crazy.”

The dwarf jerked his head up and down, using his survival instincts, he knew it was best to just comply with their requests if he had any hope of living long enough to get out of there safely. He breathed a sigh of relief when Emma set him back down. He then moved over to the redhead, watching her warily when he proceeded to take the bracelet off her wrist.

“Thanks munchkin.” Zelena smiled brightly, flexing her hands and feeling the magic come back to them. She then looked at Emma. “So am I free to go back to my farmhouse? Is it still mine?” She hoped it was.

“I’m a dwarf!” Doc muttered under his breath before he ran off, fearful that the Wicked Witch would try to retaliate.

Emma smiled at the redhead. “It is if you promise to stay away from Robin for now. I don’t want to give him incentive to go after you again. You do have your baby to think about now.” She reminded her.

Zelena smiled at Emma when she said that. Already, she felt warmed by how concerned Emma was for her baby’s well-being. That alone, cinched things for her.

Maleficent could see Emma was empathic to Zelena’s situation, seeing as she was a mother too. She understood that feeling all too well and was proud of her daughter. “Well you should probably have someone stay with you just in case those pathetic fools try to go after you again.” Her eyes twinkled as she made the suggestion. She knew exactly what she was doing and expected Emma to pick up from there.

Emma heard what her mother said and smiled. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. I could stay with her.” Her Dragon would do whatever it took to keep her mate close and out of harm’s way.

Zelena smiled at the gesture. “I would love to share my home with you, Emma. Perhaps your mother and sister would like to join us as well?” She offered, batting her eyes while giving Emma a winning smile.

Lily smirked when she heard the redhead’s offer. “Oh that will definitely add fuel to the fire. Those Charmings seem hellbent on destroying you. As if trying to destroy me, my mom and sister wasn’t enough.”

Maleficent smiled and nodded. “I am certain it will be a better place to stay in than that Cabin Gold had us staying at. Who cares what those Charmings think. Emma is old enough to decide what she wants to do.” She had yet to hear about what Zelena put her daughter through. But that would come out soon enough. She had a feeling that whatever happened, Zelena regretted her actions. She could tell by the way Zelena and Emma were looking at each other, they were falling in love. It wouldn’t be long before they were mated. It was inevitable. Zelena had gone from being a thorn in her daughter’s side to being her whole world. If that was not the case, Emma’s Dragon would have rejected her and killed her already. They belonged together. It was evident in how protective Emma was of her mate.

Emma smiled at Zelena. “Looks like we’re moving in with you sweetheart.” She winked at her.

“Good! Then it’s settled. Let’s go home so I can take a shower.” Zelena smiled as they left together. 

########

Regina found herself telling Ruby everything that was bothering her. Well… most of it anyways. Ruby had decided to take the Mayor to the White Rabbit. She figured Regina needed a drinking buddy and a listening ear. She was surprised to hear the details of what Robin did to Zelena. She didn’t like it one bit. She decided it was time to put in her two cents worth. “Well, you know Emma’s right. Everyone deserves a second chance. Even your sister does too… even with what she did to you. Heck she did some hurtful things to Emma too and our sheriff is willing to give her another chance. I got my second chance myself… or third whatever you wanna say about it. You also got your chance too. Maybe once you talk things out with Zelena and get past everything that’s happened between you two… maybe she will come to realize she needs you in her life. Family is everything. It’s important, it’s forever. Who knows, you could even learn to forgive each other and maybe start over. I know what she did was awful, but she paid for it big time by living with that bastard who hurt her like that.” She watched Regina’s reaction to what she was saying before she continued.

“Ask yourself this, would you want to stay with a man who clearly thinks so little of women and has beaten up a pregnant woman regardless of who she is, drunk or not? Only a coward would do something like that. He’s weak. If that were me in Zelena’s shoes, you know what I would do.” She pointed out. She watched Regina think about everything she had said to her about The whole situation with Robin and Zelena. If she had been in Zelena’s shoes and Robin had done something like that to her, Ruby would have destroyed him without a second thought to the consequences. 

“I mean she’s your family and Robin hurt her. Your sister could have lost the baby with the way he beat her. You told me your mother abandoned her when she was a baby, before she had you. You said Zelena blamed you for how your mother chose you over her. That’s why she became bitter and hateful. She thinks you had the life that was denied her. She pretends it’s nothing, but she’s hurting inside and then Robin comes along and hurts her physically. She had to put up with the beating and the raping. It’s no wonder she wants to kill him. I would if that happened to me.”

Regina nodded, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat. “You’re right, Ruby. Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate it. Shall we go back to Granny and Henry?” She asked, feeling more than ready to get out of there. Ruby had given her plenty to think about and she knew she would need to talk with Robin soon. And most of all, she knew she needed to speak with Zelena and work out their issues. 

Ruby had opened Regina’s eyes and made her see things from Zelena’s perspective and she didn’t like what she saw. She would need to do something about it. She would probably talk with her sister first before confronting Robin about what happened. A part of her was still feeling jealous of the way Emma and Zelena were getting cozy with each other. She’d kept that part from Ruby, not wanting to talk about the other sore subject in her life while she was still reeling from it. She just didn’t know how to deal with that issue. Especially since she had not made a move with Emma yet. She had not tried to see if there was something that could happen between them. Was it too late? Should she just let it go and try moving on from there?

Ruby was glad to see their talk helped Regina to understand things from a better perspective. But at the same time, she felt there was something else bothering the Mayor. She let it go for now, knowing that if Regina wanted to talk about it, she would. She then took her to the bed and breakfast where Henry and Granny were waiting for them. As soon as they arrived, Ruby lit up. “Hey Gran we’re back…”

Just then, Henry showed up, joining his mother and Ruby the moment he heard their voices. He was glad to see his mom. “You’re back! Hey I tried to see if Ma was okay but then she was distracted or something. What happened? Sounded like there was an emergency or something too.” It was a good thing that Granny or Ruby were always there for him when his family was busy or something had come up with them.

Granny brought them to the dining room and brought out some dessert she’d baked. She had a feeling Regina needed this and so did Henry. “He’s been asking me questions I have no way of answering.” She had only caught a glimpse of what had happened. Ruby knew more than she did about what happened.

Regina sat down with her son and with Ruby and Granny joining them. “You’re right Henry. Something has happened. Remember when we left to find Maleficent’s daughters and bring them to their mother? How Maleficent has two daughters and wouldn’t know who her second daughter was until your mother brought Lily back?”

Henry nodded. “Did Ma find the other daughter for Maleficent? And why was Zelena with Ma when you came with Robin and Roland?” He asked.

Regina took a deep breath, sharing a look with a Ruby who nodded and smiled, encouraging her to tell Henry everything. She looked back at her son. “Whatever I have to share with all of you cannot get to Mary Margaret or David yet. Emma needs to tell them herself so keep this to yourselves.” When they nodded and promised to keep quiet about it, she continued, knowing this was also going to affect Henry’s life too. “It turns out that Emma is Maleficent’s other daughter. The moment she returned with Lily, her birthmark appeared on her wrist once they crossed over the town line together. We don’t know how that happened yet. But the Charmings are not her parents. They never were. Lily is her twin sister.” She explained.

Granny gasped and was thoroughly floored by what Regina shared with them. A part of her felt bad for the Charmings. She was about to say so until Ruby spoke up.

“Mary Margaret doesn’t know yet,but she had the nerve to throw into Maleficent’s face that her daughters were monsters like her. She called them demon spawns.” She scoffed and shook her head.

Granny’s lips grew tight as she realized what Ruby was saying. “How dare she?! Why that…” she stopped herself from finishing the sentence when she remembered Henry was there. She had a scowl of displeasure on her face as she thought about Snow’s hypocrisy.

Henry was shocked at what he was hearing. “You mean Maleficent is my grandma and Lily’s my aunt?” Why was Mary Margaret calling them names like that? He understood that Maleficent was a Dragon, but still… his Ma was the Savior, right? She never did anything to the Charmings and neither did his Aunt. He was trying to understand. He knew he would need to get used to the changes happening in his family.

Regina nodded and sighed deeply. “There’s more… when we went to rescue Robin from Zelena, it turned out it wasn’t Robin who needed to be rescued. He’s been hurting Zelena and knew she wasn’t Marian all along. She’s pregnant and he’s been hurting them even after finding out she is having his baby. Your mother decided to rescue Zelena and brought her back with them. Roland is afraid of Robin now. His father has a drinking problem. I’m going to see if I can’t work things out with my sister. Family is family and she needs to learn what it’s like to be a part of our family. Like your mother, she’s been abandoned. Maybe we should give her another chance like Emma is always fond of saying. What do you think?” She asked her son.

Henry broke out into a huge smile. “I say, let’s do it!!!” The adults in the room all smiled at what he said. They knew if anyone was quick to forgive, it was Henry. He just wanted everyone to get along.

Regina smiled brightly. She was proud of her son and it showed. She’d raised him the right way. She caught the way Ruby was smiling at her and chuckled softly. Ruby winked at the Mayor and gave her a wolfish grin.


	5. Saving the Wicked-- blood wine and forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelena talks to Emma in front of Mal and Lily and apologizes for what she did to her and to Henry over drinks. Regina and Ruby join them later with Henry and Roland. The Mills Sisters finally get around to talking about what happened between them. They also talk about Robin.

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter 5

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. So it looks like Emma and Zelena are growing even closer. Regina is jealous. But Ruby Is there for her. Will she realize it soon? Henry is ready to forgive Zelena. Emma and our beautiful redhead still need to have a talk. Mal knows something happened and knows whatever did, that Zelena regrets it. What will the Charmings or Robin do next? What about Killian? Time will tell. So many things happening around the corner…

########

When they arrived at the farmhouse, Zelena put her luggage down and took a look around. Making sure Emma and her family were all settled in,she put Roland’s belongings into his room before she used magic to put her own belongings in her room. Even though this wasn’t Oz, it felt good to be back in her own home. She’d grown up in Oz, carried away from the Enchanted Forest by a cyclone all the way to the land of Oz. Cora Mills had sent her there, not wanting to have a baby born out of wedlock who wasn’t of Royal blood. She felt as if her daughter would prevent her from marrying into Royalty. A couple walking on their way to the Emerald City had found this baby by the side of the road and had taken her in after she’d saved the man’s life from a falling branch. The man was spooked and knew there was something terribly wrong with that baby. His wife on the other hand, had fallen in love with this precious baby girl and had named her Zelena. Against her husband’s wishes, she had taken her home with them with every intention of raising her as their own. Unfortunately, she died not much longer afterwards, when Zelena was a small child. Her husband blamed Zelena for his wife’s untimely death. He took to alcoholism and began verbally and emotionally abusing Zelena and he had started getting physical with her the older she had gotten. He was afraid of Zelena’s powers and had never accepted her for who she was. He had never saw her as his daughter, just an abomination. He saw his chance one day and threw it into her face that he wasn’t her father and that she was always Wicked. She’d tried her best to win her father’s heart, wanting to please him and to hear him say nice things to her. Which he never did. It was never good enough for him. Since she had powers… magic, to him, it was a truly wicked thing. It was an evil abnormally. She always knew he hated her, but when her mother died, she took the responsibility to look after her father and care of him. That was until that day he threw it in her face that she was not his daughter. They were never her parents and it was a mistake to bring her into their home. She was this wicked wicked thing. An evil spawn. She left home that day, never to return again.

She left for the Emerald City and met the Wizard who in turn had revealed what he knew about where she came from and the fact she had a half sister who was still learning to use magic by none other than Rumpelstiltskin himself. She was his student and had been raised by their mother to be a Queen. Zelena literally became green with jealousy and got bitter towards Regina because she felt their mother Cora had abandoned her for her younger sister without knowing the entire story of what really happened. Zelena had grown up unwanted, abandoned, feared due to her powerful use of magic which she had not needed to be taught. She had this magic naturally. As a result, she’d been labeled as Wicked. Thusly, the Wicked Witch was born.

She’d been very horrible. A terrible menace to them, wanting to destroy her sister and her loved ones. She had hurt those who had gotten close to Regina. The Charmings, she stole their son mere moments after he had been born. She tried to use the pirate, Killian to poison Emma with lips she had enchanted to steal her powers. He was ordered to kiss Emma and she had strangled Henry and threatened to kill him. Had she known that Killian wouldn’t be able to get close enough to Emma, she would have tried something else. She would have killed Henry. But then again, she had not known Emma didn’t kiss men. For that, she was glad that her attempts to hurt Emma had failed. She still needed to make it up to Henry for wanting to strangle him.

Zelena moved to the kitchen where everyone was sitting down. “Does anyone want something to drink? I could brew some coffee or some tea, maybe make some lemonade?”

Emma was about to answer, but Maleficent chose that moment to say something as she smiled and waved her hand and instantly, there were bottles of blood wine in the fridge. She looked at her daughters. “Darlings, it's time I introduce you two to our brand of drink. Dragons must have their Blood Wine.”

Emma shared a look with Lily. “Blood wine? Is it made with…”

“Real blood?” Both Emma and Lily finished their question in unison as they looked back at their mother.

Zelena decided to make a pitcher of lemonade, knowing that Roland would want to drink that. At the same time, she was intrigued by what Maleficent and her daughters were talking about. It was very educational for her to learn what dragons liked or didn’t like. She hoped to use what she was learning to her advantage if she had any hopes of getting to know Emma even more. She hoped to get more close and personal with her someday soon. She also made some iced tea and moved to make some coffee just for the heck of it. She loved the smell of coffee and was happy to be home and gladder still to have company. She just couldn’t stop stealing glances at Emma.

The older blonde chuckled and nodded. “Yes it is. I will teach you two how to make this, it nourishes our kind and should you ever become expectant mothers, it would be safe to drink. It is nothing like those man-made wines or their alcoholic beverages. Ours is much more potent and relaxing to us.” She waved her hand and glasses of blood wine appeared in front of the three of them. “Try it, you’ll love it, trust me.” She began sipping her wine. Her eyes glowed as she smiled with contentment.

Emma looked at her sister before she took the glass in her hand and inhaled deeply. The moment she smelled its contents, her mouth watered. She took a sip, moaning in surprise at how good it tasted. It did more than relax her. It warmed her up inside and she felt her Dragon purr with satisfaction. Clearly, this drink was an aphrodisiac to their kind. “Mmmm!!! I love this!” Her eyes glowed a golden color, a sure sign that her Dragon was happy.

Lily grinned, liking what she was seeing on her sister’s face as she tried her drink. Soon, she was moaning happily and having the exact same reaction to her drink as Emma and their mother were. “Oh yeah, I definitely see the appeal.” She smirked.

Maleficent had a knowing smile on her face, happy to see her girls were enjoying their drinks just as much as she was. She looked up when Zelena returned and joined them at the table with a cup of tea in her hand.

Zelena smiled at the dragons as she sat down. “I’m glad you three are here right now, because there are some things I need to talk with Emma about. I don’t want there to be any secrets or misunderstandings. I want you both here to hear what I need to say to Emma. This isn’t easy for me, but it needs to be said.” Zelena knew she was being very brave to bring this up in a room full of dragons. But she had a feeling this was something she needed to do in order to start with a clean slate afterwards. She turned her attention on Emma and swallowed the lump in her throat. “Emma…” she sighed, trying to figure out where to start.

Maleficent waved her hand and refilled their glasses with their blood wine and sat back as she sipped her drink. She watched the array of emotions on the redhead’s face and knew they were about to discover just exactly what Zelena put Emma and her son through. She admired Zelena’s bravery for wanting to bring it up in front of them. She had a feeling what they were about to hear would be unpleasant but at the same time, it was necessary for Emma and Zelena to come to terms with what happened before they could move forward with their lives. It was time for Zelena to get everything off her chest.

Lily had to open her mouth. “Does this have anything to do with what you put my sister through? Whatever that asshole tree hugger was talking about earlier?” She asked point-blank.

Emma looked at her sister and sighed before she looked at Zelena. She realized if there was a good time to talk about what happened in the past, it would be right now. “It’s okay Zelena. Talk with me.” She could see the remorse in her eyes and reached out, taking ahold of her hand. “What is it?”

Zelena sighed deeply and nodded. She knew Lily had every right to ask and was defensive of her sister. “Yes Lily. It has everything to do with what I did. I’m not going to make excuses for my actions against your sister. What I did was wrong. It was stupid. I was desperate to change my life. I thought going back in time would be the answer to my problems. I hurt so many people. I allowed my hatred for Regina to cloud my judgement. It blinded me to what was in front of me all along. I was just looking in the wrong place. I should never have tried to take your powers away, Emma. I’m glad I failed when I tried to get that Pirate to kiss you and take your powers away. I wanted to travel back in time and make it to where my sister was never born. Everyone kept telling me it could never happen, that it was impossible. But I did it…” She paused as she saw how they were looking at her.

“I did it.” She continued. “Just for the wrong reasons. I did not think about the consequences of my actions. And then that day… Right before you and that pirate went back in time… I tried to strangle your son in order to get you to give me what I wanted… uhm… what Regina had… I needed. I wish I never did that. I wish I knew you before all that happened. I…” Her voice broke, her eyes watered. “I didn’t know you. That’s still no excuse for what I did. I didn’t know your story or how you grew up or what happened to you before all this. Emma, I am so very sorry for what I did to you, to your son. I was angry, bitter and hateful. A spiteful bitch…” she sighed. “I was unwanted as a baby, abandoned and I blamed my sister for my life. I have this deep hatred inside me. But since taking care of Roland and getting pregnant…” She bit her lower lip.

“Speaking of which, had I known Robin was going to do to me what he did… I would never have allowed myself to get that close to him like that. Still, it’s not this baby’s fault his or her father is a jackass… I wish he wasn’t the father… But anyways… I wish I knew you Emma. I wish I never hurt you or Henry. I want the chance to make it up to him, to you. Ever since you saved me in New York… All I’ve wanted was the chance to start over, to get to know you better, to know your family better. I realize we have so much in common. Nobody understood me when I was growing up. People were always afraid of me, calling me Wicked. Especially the man I called my father. He hated me, he was a drunk. He blamed me for his wife’s death. He called my gift of magic and healing a curse, the devil’s gift. He kept calling me Wicked so I became the Wicked Witch. I had nobody except people I turned into flying monkeys to keep me company.” She sniffled.

Emma’s heart went out to Zelena as she stood up and moved around to her side. She hugged her, feeling her shoulders shake as Zelena began crying at the gesture of kindness Emma was offering to her. “I forgive you Zelena. I meant what I said when I said you deserve a second chance. I can tell you didn’t mean to do what you did and I believe you will work things out with my son. I feel like I can understand where you’re coming from. I get you Zelena. I do. But you also need to give Regina another chance too. None of what happened was her fault either. If anyone is to blame for what happened to you, it’s Cora. She did this to you and she was horrible to your sister. The two of you need to sit down and talk about this too.”

Zelena looked at Emma, glad the blonde was willing to give her another chance. She jerked her head. “I’m just not ready yet. It’s still raw inside me. I won’t try anything else with her.” She promised. “But I might not be able to refrain from saying whatever is on my mind around her. Maybe later we can um… fix things I guess. I just don’t want to talk about her yet. Thank you for giving me another chance Emma.” She finally smiled. She did feel a lot better after getting it all off her chest and getting her forgiveness. “It means a lot to me, more than you know.”

Maleficent looked at her daughters after Zelena had her say. She then looked at the redhead. “Thank you for telling us the truth of what you did to my daughter and my grandson. That was a brave thing you did. You’re lucky I didn’t know Emma was my daughter when you did all these things to her. Otherwise, I would have eaten you for dinner.”

“Likewise.” Lily smirked as she looked at her sister’s mate. “If you EVER think of hurting my sister… or nephew, I won’t let you get off easily.” She promised as she gave her a pointed look. Her threat driving its way into Zelena, letting her know they were a family and as long as Emma was happy, she wouldn’t need to worry. She knew Zelena got her message loud and clear.

Zelena nodded and smiled at them. “I know. Believe me, I will never let anyone hurt them ever again. She saved me and I will do anything to make sure no harm comes to Emma or Henry. I have an army of flying monkeys at my disposal.” She smiled wickedly. “They will do whatever I tell them to do.” She promised. She then looked at Emma and blushed when she saw the way the Sheriff was looking at her.

Emma chuckled softly. “I trust you Zelena. Thank you for telling me and my family how you feel. There is absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do for you, sweetheart.” She winked at her before she kissed her cheek and caressed her abdomen tenderly before she then moved to sit next to the redhead, leaving Zelena flustered.

The redhead gingerly touched her cheek where Emma had kissed her. It caused her heart rate to quicken. The way Emma kissed her… how she touched her abdomen like that… the look in her eyes… if she thought she was falling in love with Emma before, she’d fallen hard already. For so long, trust had not come easily to her. She realized it had not been easy for Emma Swan either. But now, after everything that had happened, she knew without any doubt, she could trust Emma with her life, with her baby’s life.

Emma had a knowing smile on her face. She heard the way Zelena’s heart was beating faster after she’d kissed her. She could see it in the way she was looking at her. Things had most certainly changed between the two of them. She could feel her Dragon sighing with contentment and knew her Dragon had acknowledged Zelena as their mate. For a moment, her eyes had changed color when she’d kissed her. She had felt her Dragon move closer to the surface. Emma knew she would never let anyone touch her or their children ever again. Especially that tree hugger, Robin Hood. Her Dragon was itching to claim Zelena Mills as her mate, right this very moment. But she was going to let Zelena be the one to make the first move. She wanted to make sure Zelena’s comfort came first before making any life changing decisions with her. She was putting Zelena’s needs first before her own.

Maleficent knew what Emma was doing and was proud of her. *You do realize once you claim her as your mate, that baby she carries within her womb will become yours?* She informed her daughter.

Emma gave her mother an ear splitting grin when she heard what her mother shared with her. She liked what she was hearing. *Good. Because there is no way in hell I will ever let that bastard touch Zelena ever again. He is not fit to be this baby’s father. I have every intention of making them mine.* She continued sipping her blood wine.

Lily smirked knowingly. *Go mama Em!!!* Her eyes twinkled as she winked at her sister. She couldn’t wait to see Emma sweep the floor with that forest boy again. She’d enjoyed that very much the first time she did.

Just then, they heard someone knocking at the door. Zelena was surprised and wasn’t expecting any other company. She’d been momentarily distracted by opening her heart to Emma and her family. She shared a look with the dragons before she stood up, noticing Emma did the same. “Who would know…” She had forgotten that her sister knew where she was and that Roland was spending time with her. “Oh yes… Regina.” She sighed as she moved to the door.

Emma went with her, making sure that it was Regina and not someone like Robin or those damned Charmings. Seeing it was indeed Regina, Emma smiled as she nodded to Zelena, indicating it was safe to answer the door. She knew Zelena could defend herself easily, but she wanted to protect her mate at all costs.

The redhead opened the door, noticing that Regina was there with Roland and they were not alone. Ruby and Henry were with them too. She sighed. “Come in.” She opened the door wider and moved aside. She was glad to see Roland there and even happier to see Henry. “I have lemonade ready if you boys would like some.”

Little Roland lit up and grinned from ear to ear. “Yeah!!! Thanks Mommy!” He hugged her tightly before kissing her cheek and then he grabbed Henry’s hand and pulled him inside.

Henry smiled at her. “Thanks.” He then looked at his blond mother and let go of Roland’s hand for a moment so he could hug her. “Hey Ma! I missed you. Are you okay? I heard what happened.” He then looked at Zelena and could see that something positive had happened with his aunt. She seemed happier and more at ease. He hoped more than anything that his mom and her sister would finally be able to put aside their differences and make peace with each other.

Emma grinned as she kissed her son's head lovingly while they hugged. “I’m okay kid. I know things are changing. We still need to talk and your Aunt Zelena has something she would like to say to you. But your Grandma Maleficent and Aunt Lily are in the kitchen. They can’t wait to meet you.” She informed him.

Henry smiled and nodded before he felt Roland take his hand again and pulled him to the kitchen. He finally saw Maleficent and his Aunt Lily. “Hi.” He started noticing things about his grandmother and things began to make more sense to him. He could see the resemblances and knew they were family.

Regina observed the interaction between Roland and Zelena with intrigue. She’d never seen this maternal side of her sister before. It was a nice change for once. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. It seemed like her sister had a heart after all. She looked at her sister’s barely flat abdomen, remembering that there was an innocent baby growing inside her. She supposed that perhaps Zelena’s maternal side was coming out thanks to her pregnancy. She looked back up at her sister. “I was hoping we could talk.”

Ruby smiled at Emma. “Hey Ems. We brought the boys here and we’ll… we just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” She could smell the other dragons in the other room. “I also wanted to talk about a couple of things with you. If you’re not too busy that is.” She didn’t want to overstep her boundaries or overstay her welcome. She wanted to see where things stood with Emma now that she’d been reunited with her real family. Ever since Snow had made Ruby Emma’s godmother, she felt very protective of Emma from the very start. She valued their friendship and did not want to lose it if there was going to be a misunderstanding about her relationship with Snow. And since it turned out that Emma was the dragon’s daughter, she couldn’t see how it could still hold true. She’d taken pride in being her godmother, but now it was just another reason for her to be upset with Snow White. She needed to know exactly what happened and she needed to come to terms with how things had changed for everyone.

Ever since Emma finally got in touch with her Dragon, she’d discovered she could read other shifters’ minds whether they were weres or magical users or magical beings. Right now, she knew Ruby had a lot on her mind and was bothered by a lot of things. Even things regarding their relationship. Emma smiled at the wolf. “I’m never too busy for you, Rubes. C’mon.” She nodded toward the kitchen, indicating Ruby should follow her. Ruby moved to follow the blonde.

Zelena looked at Emma before she answered Regina. Since they had come all the way to bring the boys over, she decided to follow Emma’s example. Sighing, she decided to let Regina in. “I guess it would be terribly rude of me to turn you away now.” She was tempted to do just that, but then again, she’d made a promise to Emma. “Um… do you want some coffee?” She asked.

“Thank you. Yes please. Coffee sounds good.” Regina nodded as she moved inside, following Zelena to the kitchen. The moment she saw Maleficent, she smiled at her old friend. “Hey Mal.” She noticed what the three of them were drinking before they’d arrived. She recognized her old friend’s favorite brand of drink and realized Emma now drank the same thing. She was still wrapping her head around the fact Emma was a Dragon like Mal and clearly, so was Lily. “How’s the essence of life tonight?” She asked. It was an inside joke between two old friends.

Maleficent was happy to finally meet her grandson officially. She smiled at the boys when they came into the kitchen. “Hello darlings, Henry.” She murmured as she helped the boys get some lemonade, with a wave of her hand the glasses appeared before them along with a plate of cookies. Roland already liked Maleficent. He beamed happily as he climbed up a chair and began enjoying his drink and a cookie.

Henry grinned as he sat down next to Roland. It was a nice change to see this side of his grandmother. He bit into a cookie after he took one, knowing his mother didn’t like it when he ate treats before dinner. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy getting to know them better. Now that Henry was sitting up close and personal with them, he could see where his blond mother got some of her looks from. “Will you teach me about dragons?” He asked.

Maleficent chuckled knowingly. “I would love to.” She murmured before sipping her wine. Just then, the young wolf arrived with Emma and shortly after, Regina entered with Zelena. She heard Regina’s question and chuckled. “Sinfully delicious.” She answered and laughed when Henry’s eyebrows rose at this. “Just a little joke between us. Nothing to be taken seriously.” She winked at her grandson.

Emma smiled at her mother as they all sat down. Zelena sitting next to Emma while Regina sat at the other side of her sister. Ruby opted to sit by Emma so they could talk. Maleficent and Lily were sitting with the boys.

Ruby looked at Emma, wondering where she should start. There were so many things she needed to say to her.

Emma chuckled knowingly. “Listen Rubes. I know you’re worried about where things stand now that I found out who my real family is. I know you were appointed my godmother by the Charmings. You’re worried that since it turns out they are not my parents, that the status between us has changed. Listen, just because things have changed… it doesn’t mean our friendship has either. I love you like a sister. You’re my family too Ruby. That will never change. So what if I’m a Dragon and you’re a wolf. One thing that is true for us is that we are protective of our family, our loved ones. Pack law is very much the same for us dragons too.”

Ruby nodded and beamed happily when she heard what Emma said. She remembered how Emma had studied the way of the wolf after the town had plotted to attack her after she’d been framed for murder. She loved how Emma had gone out of her way, wanting to understand Ruby and her lifestyle. That action alone, showed solidarity and trust for her. She had known then, that there was nothing she wouldn’t do for Emma. “I feel like we could be soul sisters. You understand me better than anyone else I know. Even Snow. That’s why I feel like I understand you too. I can’t believe the audacity of Snow and what she called the three of you. It’s very hypocritical of them. Especially when Snow always considered me her best friend. But after what I heard and saw… I can’t say the same for her anymore.” She kept licking her lips every time the dragons sipped their wine. The smell of whatever they were drinking was drawing her in.

Maleficent nodded. “Would you like some blood wine darling?” She knew werewolves had the same taste for blood wine, their kind did. She thought it was time to offer her some.

“I don’t… I mean I’ve never had any…” Ruby smiled as she gestured towards their drinks. She was curious. “Blood? Wine… As in um… where did the blood come from? It smells intoxicating.” Ruby’s wolfstime wasn’t that much far off.

Emma and Lily smiled as they looked at their mother, also curious about the source of the blood aspect of their drink.

Maleficent chuckled. “A little bit of this, a little bit of that.” She had a mysterious smile on her face. *The blood of the guilty mixed with some blood of wild game and the best grown grapes or fruit, some herbs to give us pleasure and tranquility. Some home grown herbs you won’t find anywhere else. Something humans would not be able to handle.* She waved her hand and a glass of blood wine appeared in front of Ruby.

Ruby was surprised when Maleficent spoke to her mentally. The only one she ever tried doing that with, was her Gran and Pongo. But it wasn’t the same thing. Only better. The guilty? What did the Dragon mean by that? When Ruby was offered a glass of blood wine, she couldn’t resist as she decided it didn’t hurt to try some. She looked at Emma and took the glass into her hand, tentatively sipping it. She was nervous about whether or not she would like it. As it turned out, the taste was like nothing she’d ever had before. The way it splashed on her tongue, it was truly exquisite. It gave her a heady sensation. She moaned and blushed when that happened. “Damn! This is the best thing ever!” She exclaimed.

The dragons chuckled with amusement, enjoying themselves as they drank together. Maleficent smiled knowingly at Ruby, deciding she liked the young wolf. She was glad to know Emma had a friend in that one. She knew how much they cared for each other. She decided then, that it was a good time to make things official. “I would like to ask you something Ruby Lucas. How would you like to become a honorary member of our family? I see how much you care about Emma.”

Ruby was surprised but broke out into a huge grin. “I do. She has been there for me multiple times especially when people tried to come after me when they all thought I’d murdered in cold blood. Emma never gave up on me and I wouldn’t ever give up on her either.” She was touched by what Maleficent was offering.

The older dragon smiled. “Meet us by the creek tonight twenty minutes before midnight. And we will do something for you.” She promised. She planned to explain to her daughters what she hoped to do that night, but would explain later.

Emma smiled at her friend and nodded at her mother, understanding they would talk about what would happen. She had a feeling it would be something good for them.

########

Regina looked at her sister while the dragons were talking with Ruby. She smiled when her sister got her some coffee and noticed the boys were eating cookies. She almost said something about it, but decided to let it go this once. She took a sip of her coffee before she started talking. “I just wanted to say that whatever our mother did to you, to me in the past… it doesn’t need to get in the way of us being sisters. I want to work this out with you. I mean, you’re my sister. My family. You’re carrying my niece or nephew. I’m sorry for what Robin put you through. He should never have done that to you. As for Henry, he is your nephew and you hurt him…”

Zelena scoffed. “Cora should never have gotten rid of me when she did. She picked the wrong daughter to…” she stopped herself, trying not to be petty or to let her emotions get the better of her. “I was the firstborn! She threw me away like garbage! You grew up a princess! I grew up unwanted! How did you think I felt?! You had everything I didn’t!”

Regina wanted so badly to understand her sister, to take away her pain. But Zelena was right, she had not known what it was like for her. But she wanted to change that. “But I didn’t Zelena! Maybe it seems like I did… but that was not the case for me. I never had the love of a mother, no matter how much I tried to convince myself that she loved me. She didn’t. She took her heart out because she did not want to be bothered by such a trivial emotion. Love was weakness. That’s what Cora believed. She didn’t care about my feelings or hurting me. She killed my first love in front of me and laughed about it. My father was too afraid to stand up to her so she got away with everything. If I had known about you… I would have tried to find you and make sure you were a part of my life. Cora kept your existence away from me.” She tried to explain. “She had a lot of secrets. I don’t know why she wouldn’t tell me about you. I would have loved having a sister to share my life with.”

Zelena digested everything Regina shared with her. She sighed deeply. “I wish I never hurt Henry. For that, I’m sorry…” she looked over at her nephew and saw that he was listening to their conversation. “I really am sorry Henry. I hope you will forgive me.” She then continued with what she wanted them to know about the life she had, growing up without her mother or sister there. “My father never accepted me. He hated it that I had magic. He called my magic wicked. Said it was the work of the devil.” She scoffed as she said this. “I healed animals and people, and he punished me for it. He was a drunkard. He blamed me for my mother’s death. It was an accident. I was very little and didn’t know what I was doing. He called me Wicked, always. So I became wicked and very good at being wicked. After years of trying to do the right thing, trying to gain my father’s affections and trying to make him happy… he snapped and told me I was not his daughter. They were not my parents. I was a wicked wicked child and that nobody would ever want me, nobody would love me except the devil. He called me the spawn of the devil. I’d had enough and left him when I was a teenager and I never looked back. I decided since he insisted I was wicked, I was going to be a wicked witch and damned good at being wicked.” She then put her hand on her abdomen. “I wish I never got involved with Robin. I know I killed Marian and Neal.” She wasn’t sorry for killing Neal but didn’t say that, knowing that Henry was there and Neal was his father. She kept that to herself.

She continued. “After I killed Marian, I planned to get rid of my disguise once I returned, but then Robin saw me. I knew you were mad at Emma for bringing Marian back even though, technically she didn’t. I enjoyed seeing how much I was getting under your skin as Marian. And I never had anyone show me affection before. When Robin hugged me and kissed me… while I did not like kissing him, I was curious about the whole idea of having someone care for me, even if it were a lie. I knew what Robin was doing. I knew what he was doing with you while I was frozen in the other room. You didn’t think I heard everything?” She almost smirked when she saw the guilty look on Regina’s face. “The true love’s kiss he tried with me? It didn’t work because he wasn’t really kissing his wife. He was kissing me. Now if that were really his wife… I’m pretty sure the kiss would have cured the frozen spell. The first time I finally experienced what he did with you… he beat me up afterwards. That became the new normal in my life. Every time he wanted to be with me that way… he would beat me, hit me with disgust and hate in his eyes. Even after we found out I was pregnant, it would get worse.”

Tears sprang to Regina’s eyes as her heart went out to her sister. “I’m so sorry Zelena.” Before she could say anything else, her son did.

“But if you can heal people and animals, that’s light magic. There’s nothing wicked about being able to heal. Your father was an idiot to believe you were wicked just because you had magic. I’m sorry you grew up with a rotten father, but Mom also grew up with a rotten mother. She needs you in her life. If she’s willing to give you another chance… so am I. If Ma can forgive you and Mom can… then I forgive you Aunt Zee. I know you wish you hadn’t done what you did. But that’s in the past. We can focus on the here and now and look to the future. It’s your choice what you want to do. I have to believe things happen for a reason and that everything works out for the better.” He was trying to wrap his head around what Robin did to his Aunt. He didn’t like it that he hurt her like that. “”Our family won’t let that happen to you again. I promise. He’s a douchebag. I never liked him.”

Zelena smiled at her nephew. She could see he was a lot like Emma and she was looking forward to getting to know him better. When he forgave her, it touched her very deeply, to the core. “Thank you. Your mom saved me. And it made me realize maybe I should make the effort to make things right with you. Nobody has ever saved me before. Not until Emma.” She looked over at Regina. “I don’t know what to make about the situation with you or me. I’m still feeling conflicted. I wasn’t ready to talk with you about what happened. I wish I met Cora or at least knew what happened. Maybe it would help me to decide what to do next. I don’t know.” She sighed deeply. “But I know I don’t want to fight with you anymore. Maybe it’s my hormones or maybe it’s the fact you’re my sister… I can’t decide yet.”

Regina smiled and nodded. “I’ll take what I can get. I don’t want to fight you either. But still, it would be nice to know the truth of what really happened and why we got put into this situation in the first place.” She looked over at her son, wishing he had said how he felt about Robin a long time ago. Maybe had things been avoided, things would have turned out differently.

Emma was listening to their conversation and couldn’t help but to be proud of her son right now. She moved and hugged Henry, kissing his forehead. An idea formed in her mind as she looked at the sisters. “I might be able to help you with that.”

“How?” Zelena was surprised to hear that Emma might be able to help them find out what happened.

Maleficent and Lily looked at Emma, intrigued by what she could do to help Regina and Zelena. It perked them up and they were looking forward to seeing what Emma would do next.

Regina gave them a bright smile as she caught on to what Emma was suggesting. “I think I know.” She looked from Zelena to Emma. “You’re talking about using your dream catcher to find out what our mother kept from us?”


	6. Forgiveness, Robin, and True Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma shows the Mills Sisters what Cora took from them. Forgiveness happens, and then a confrontation with Robin and the Charmings... And oh yes a True Love's kiss...

Saving theWicked  
Chapter 6

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. So now Emma is hopefully going to get the sisters to reconnect in a positive way. Eventually Ruby will be given the chance to be a part of Emma’s family. Soon, Zelena and Emma will be able to spend time together.

########

Emma smiled at Regina and nodded as she moved to join the sisters. With a wave of her hand, the dreamcatcher appeared in her hand. “Yes. That’s exactly what I am going to do.”

This was Lily’s chance to see what her sister could do, and she was watching with rapt fascination. She knew she had a lot to learn when it came to magic.

Emma brushed the dreamcatcher against Regina and Zelena’s foreheads before focusing her magic into the center of her dreamcatcher. Soon, they could see images of what happened, starting before Zelena was born. What Cora did, the trouble she went to in order to assert herself into the Royal family. They saw what happened when Cora had a love affair with Rumplestiltskin and how she tore her heart out after realizing he didn’t love her the way she thought, even after making a deal with him to let him have her firstborn, how she went and took Zelena away so Rumplestiltskin could not get his hands on the baby. 

That part had surprised Zelena. She had no idea it happened this way. She continued watching. 

They saw how Cora had lied to her fiancé about being pregnant, Eva had blabbed the truth to the King and had gotten Cora kicked out. It caused her to give Zelena up, knowing if anyone knew she had a child out of wedlock, she would never be Queen. But still, that did not stop her from trying again until she met the Prince, Henry and gave birth to his baby, Regina. It showed how Cora treated Regina as she grew up. Regina had tried to do what it took to please Cora, but nothing was ever good enough for her. They saw how eventually Regina had gotten hurt badly and Cora had gotten Zelena to come home with her so Zelena could heal Regina and save her life. They had discovered they were actually sisters while playing and were happy and loved each other only to have Cora send Zelena away and erase their memories. Like it had never happened.

Emma showed them everything, leaving nothing out. She wanted to make sure Regina and Zelena knew exactly what had happened. They deserved the whole truth and that was exactly what she gave them.

Regina and Zelena both had tears falling down their cheeks as they realized what their mother kept from them. The truth that they had loved one another once upon a time. They’d discovered they were sisters but their mother had taken that away from them. She’d deliberately deprived them the chance to be a part of each other’s lives. Immediately, after they were shown the full truth of what had happened, they reached out to one another and clutched at each other, holding on tightly as they sobbed, angry at what their mother had done to them.

Zelena spoke first. “Regina! I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!!!” She cried, hating the fact she’d been hating the wrong person all along. She’d hurt her sister so many times. Why?! Why did she have to be so hateful to her? Why had she allowed her jealousy to get in the way of having a sister like Regina? Now that she knew the truth of what had happened, Zelena knew things needed to change.

Regina cried as she held Zelena in her arms. “I’m sorry too!!! I wanted to end you for what you did to Robin after I found out.” She sobbed as she continued. “But he hurt you!!! I’m sorry!!!” She hated it that she had not seen Robin for who he really was. It had taken him hurting Zelena before she realized who she had almost ended up with. She was going to have to do something about that soon. They both continued holding each other until their crying subsided and they wiped each other’s tears away. They then forgave each other and agreed to wipe the slate clean and start over. They smiled at each other before they looked at Emma, feeling grateful that she’d brought them together this way.

“Thank you!!!” They chimed together before biting their lips and giggling.

Emma chuckled softly. “Happy to help. Anything for you two.” She winked at them, happy to see that Zelena and Regina were now sorting out their differences and working together instead of against each other.

Maleficent and Lily as well as the boys were smiling at them, glad to see they had finally made peace with one another.

“So glad to see two sisters no longer at war with each other.” Ruby smiled as she patted Emma’s shoulder. “You did it Ems.” She beamed. She was happy with the way things had turned out for them.

Zelena grinned at Regina and then back at Emma. She couldn’t wait until she’d find a way to thank her Savior later when they were alone.

Regina smiled at Emma, grateful her best friend was able to help them the way she did. She would never forget this day ever. She wanted to do something to thank her. She winked at the blonde and sighed happily.

Zelena then spoke up again. “Would you like to stay for dinner? I could make us some BLT or whatever else you’d like.” She really wanted to spend some time as a family since she was starting over again with her sister. She felt it was long overdue and wasn’t ready to let go of her sister just yet.

Regina smiled and nodded. “I would love to.” She moved to help her sister prepare their dinner, offering to make some salad.

Soon, everyone was eating and conversing and enjoying some family time. Everyone shared stories, getting to know each other. Emma and Lily also shared stories of what happened when they were kids. Maleficent thoroughly enjoyed learning more about her daughters while the others got a glimpse into their lives. After they’d eaten, Emma moved to help Zelena with the dishes. “You made us dinner. Let me at least do the dishes for you, sweetheart.” She smiled and winked at the redhead.

Regina noticed the term of endearment that Emma had for her sister. A part of her felt a pang of jealousy in her heart at the looks she saw them share with each other. She didn’t want to be jealous of her sister. Not when they’d just kissed and made up. She wished Emma looked at her the way she was looking at Zelena and tried to push those feelings aside. She wanted to take five steps forward with her sister rather than take three steps backwards. She tried to pretend her feelings were not hurt.

“I’ll help you Ems.” Ruby smiled as she got up and helped Emma bring the dishes to the sink and they proceeded to do the dishes together.

Zelena smiled, watching Emma move away and licked her lips appreciatively at the sight of her blonde doing the dishes for her. She sighed in contentment, feeling so lucky that Emma was there with her. She knew she would never want to be on the opposing side of her ever again. She liked how it felt to be getting closer to her.

Maleficent noticed what was going on. She had seen the way Regina looked at her daughter and saw the look of disappointment on her face when she saw how Emma and Zelena were getting pretty close and intimate with each other. She knew she would need to talk with Regina about it, when the time was right.

After dinner, the boys decided it was time to go outside. They headed towards the door and opened it, stopping abruptly when they saw the Charmings coming up the steps with Robin.

“Daddy?” Roland’s voice quivered nervously when he saw his father standing there. He began backing up.

Robin smiled when he saw his son there. “My boy!” He moved to scoop him up into his arms. He wanted to take Roland away from Zelena.

Henry narrowed his eyes at the people standing on the porch. “What are you doing here?” He moved in front of Robin, keeping him away from Roland and wanting to protect him. He could see the smaller boy was afraid of his father and understood why. “You’re not coming any closer you asshole!!!” Ever since he had heard what Robin did to his Aunt Zee or the fact he was the reason Roland was afraid of him after getting hurt and ending up with stitches and seeing how bad Robin was for his mom, distracting her from being his mother and making her forget her priorities in her life and never spending time at all with him… Robin had distracted his mother from what was important and she wasn’t herself when she was with him. He was bitter about the whole thing. He didn’t like the person his mother was when she was around Robin Hood. It was time to put that pine cone in his place. He was going to make sure to keep Robin Hood away from his family.

Regina was broken away from her thoughts when she heard Roland and Henry at the door. She then heard Robin’s voice and had looked over at her sister, seeing the look of alarm in her eyes which had lasted a heartbeat or two until Zelena remembered where they were and that Robin would be a fool to try something with her. That idiot! Regina knew she was not going to let Robin hurt her sister ever again. Still, she saw the look of determination on her sister’s face and knew she had to stop this before it progressed into something they wouldn’t be able to turn back from. She stood up precisely at the same time her sister did, prepared to see what the hell was going on. Regina wasn’t about to let her sister face her tormentor alone ever again.

“You ungrateful little…” Robin glared at Henry. He grabbed him, prepared to backhand the little prick when he heard a voice that stopped him.

“Put Henry down or I will roast you alive you dung bug!!!” Zelena formed a ball of green flames in the palm of her hand, prepared to burn Robin alive if he harmed her nephew.

Regina joined her sister’s side, forming a ball of flames as well. “Robin?! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Get your hands off MY son!!!” Regina was furious. She was prepared to fight him, but then David reacted before she could.

The Charmings were just as surprised at Robin’s behavior. David reached out and grabbed Robin’s free hand forcibly. “Let go of Henry! You don’t threaten kids that way ever!” He was finally seeing Robin the way he’d been warned about. His purpose of being there, forgotten for a moment.

Emma had heard everything. Before David could remove his hand from Robin’s arm, she’d gotten into his face, grabbing him by his throat. “What the hell?! You’d grab my kid like that?! Either you’re very stupid or you’re suicidal!!!” Her eyes flashed with fury as she looked from the drunk Robin to the unwelcome Charmings. “What the hell do you three think you’re doing here?!” She growled, as she moved Henry out of the way and behind her, keeping him out of Robin’s reach.

“Mommy!!!” Roland ran over to Zelena and hugged her tightly, not wanting to see his father again. “Make Daddy go away please! I don’t want him to hurt us again.” He whimpered. “He’s a bad man!”

Emma heard what Roland said, and it tugged at her heartstrings. She gave Robin a hard look. “Do you hear what your son said? He’s afraid of you! Is that what you want?! Does that make you happy, knowing he saw what you did to Zelena, to him?!” She forcibly moved them back away from the doorway, smirking when she saw how Robin looked guilty even for a moment before another facade masked his original response.

“We came to perform a citizen’s arrest since you took my badge and gun. Zelena belongs in jail!!!” David replied as he debated on whether or not to force his way past Emma and get his hands on Zelena long enough to cuff her once again.

Emma moved so none of them would be able to get past her. “Not one step closer!” She growled.

“She’s Wicked! Remember what she did to your brother?” Mary Margaret replied indignantly. “Why are you here? What do you think you’re doing here?! What about what she did to Henry?!”

Henry replied over his mother’s shoulder. “That’s between me and Aunt Zee! I’ve already forgiven her. You don’t get to use that against her again!” Zelena opened her arm and smiled when Henry joined her.

Mary Margaret gasped, looking appalled by the very notion that Zelena would be forgiven at all. Instead of addressing that, she looked at Emma. “Still… why are you here? You should be with Killian. He misses you and loves you. In fact, you should be kissing and making up with him. He’s sorry for what he did and you need to come home and spend time with him and then…” she stopped when she saw the look on Emma’s face. “Emma…”

“I don’t need you to speak for Killian.” The blonde glared at them. “And she’s not going anywhere with the likes of you three. Zelena is under MY protection. If I see any of you anywhere within a hundred feet of her, I will put you in jail for harassment. As for you, Robin of Locksley… I should put your ugly ass in jail for domestic violence as well as rape and endangering the lives of your children. I should also mention as of right now, you’re no longer allowed to be around my son. Or within 500 feet of Roland, Zelena or the baby she carries inside her. You now have a restraining order. Disobey that, and I will not hesitate to destroy you.” She looked like she was wound up tight, just about to strike at any moment. But she refrained from doing that.

Mary Margaret gasped when she heard what her daughter said. “Emma? What’s wrong with you?! What have you done with our daughter?!” Was this really Emma. Was she an imposter like Doc said? Or could she be under a spell? She turned to glare at Maleficent who was standing behind Emma with Lily. She also glared at Regina as well as Zelena, wondering which of them had put a spell on her daughter.

David was just as shocked by their daughter’s behavior. She’d been disrespectful ever since they had their disagreements about what they did to Maleficent and her daughters and then after she returned, she had gotten worse, firing him. Enough was enough. “Emma, this isn’t you. What did they do to you? Tell me…”

Robin looked at Regina. “You’re the Mayor! Do something! You should fire her and arrest Zelena! I bet she cursed Emma… or the Dragon did...”

Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Nobody’s placed me under any sort of curse! You have absolutely no idea at all… none whatsoever!” She crossed her arms.

Maleficent laughed, taking delight in the fact those Charmings still did not know Emma was not their daughter. She was very much looking forward to the day she would be able to pull the rug out from under them so to speak. She was glad they were biding their time. She had a feeling that was what Emma was doing as well and she liked it very much. Oh yes she did. She and Lily conversated about this, mentally. She checked to see if Emma heard their conversation. She did. Emma had a wicked smirk on her face as she turned and looked at them, confirming her suspicions.

Lily chuckled in response. *This is going to be so much fun!!!* She smirked, thinking about her need for vengeance on those Charmings.

Regina gave her former lover a very cool look. “Yes Robin, as you’ve pointed out… I am the Mayor. As Mayor, I am giving Emma permission to carry out her duties as Sheriff. You on the other hand, shall not have the right to perform citizen’s arrest ever again in MY town. You abused that power for the last time. Em-ma has the right to dole out punishment as she sees fit for harassing my sister.”

“Regina? Now wait a minute…” Robin shook his head not understanding why Regina was siding with that damned blonde. “But Regina… why?!”

The Mayor moved until she was standing toe to toe with the man responsible of hurting her sister and abusing her so despicably. “Because she’s MY sister and you hurt her!!! I cannot and will not be with someone who would stoop so low as to do what you’ve done to Roland and to Zelena and most importantly, that innocent baby growing inside her!!!”

Robin’s jaw dropped. “What are you saying? No Regina!!! We’re True Loves! You can’t do this to me!!” Robin wasn’t backing down. They belonged together and he was going to make sure she remembered that.

Regina scoffed. “No Robin. If you were my true love, you would never have married Marian or gotten involved with Zelena or bedded her or even treated her like crap. Get out of my sight. I want nothing to do with you ever again. You threatened mine and Emma’s son and you threatened my sisters and HER kids. Never again! If I see your face again, I will call the Sheriff and have her put you where you belong. Fight me on this and I will send you to hell where you belong!!!” Regina was dead serious when she said this. After she finished having her say, she slammed the door in their faces and turned around to look at the others. “Well that felt good.”

Ruby was grinning proudly when she saw and heard what Regina said regarding that bastard. “Ohh the Mayor has teeth!!! I love it!” She snapped her teeth together and winked at Regina, giving her a huge wolfish grin. 

Emma had moved over to where Zelena and Roland were and took them into her arms, hugging them. She kissed Zelena’s cheek. “Thank you for what you tried to do.” She would never forget what the redhead did, trying to protect Henry from that damned pinecone. 

Zelena blushed when Emma kissed her cheek for the second time that day. “Well he is family. We protect our own don’t we?” This was definitely a new side of Zelena.

Henry smiled at his Aunt Zee. “Yeah thanks for that, Aunt Zee.” Zelena smiled at him and caressed his cheek. Henry appreciated it and knew he wouldn’t ever forget what she did. Her past misdeeds were forgotten now. His aunt Zelena deserved another chance. He also knew without any doubt, he could trust his red headed aunt with his life now. He moved and hugged his blond mother tightly, smiling when he felt her kiss his forehead. “Thanks Ma! I love you.” He then moved and hugged his brunette mother. “Thanks Mom. I’m glad you finally got rid of that douche bag. I love you.”

Regina smiled at what Ruby said. Her jealousy forgotten for now as she nodded at her and winked back at the taller brunette. Ruby had distracted her from her thoughts of Emma getting closer to Zelena. It had felt so good to finally tell Robin off and to break things off with him now that she had seen his true colors. She had no idea what she’d ever seen in him in the first place. But now she felt free and it felt good. It felt right. She looked at Henry. “Don’t you know by now, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you, my Prince.” She murmured.

Zelena looked at her sister and smiled as she moved over to her. “Thank you for defending my honor Sis.” She hugged her tightly, feeling like she’d gotten the sister she’d always wanted.

Lily chuckled. “Well, that was fun to watch. I thought you would roast him alive or devour him on the spot, Sis.” She smirked as she winked at Emma. She would have absolutely loved watching Emma wipe the floor with him again.

Emma smirked knowingly at her sister. “The thought had crossed my mind, yes.” Emma chuckled. “But then I heard Roland and I couldn’t find it in my heart to add more trauma to his life where he could see and hear everything going on. That kid has been through enough.” She looked down to see Roland grinning up at her and couldn’t resist as she reached down and ruffled his dark curls.

Zelena and Regina both heard whatEmma said about Roland, and it warmed their hearts so completely. They’d sighed in unison.

Maleficent had a knowing smile on her face when she heard what her blond daughter said. *He will be so lucky to have you as his other parent once you claim your bride.* She knew Roland would end up with more mothers than he would know what to do with, but he would be a very lucky kid.

Emma smiled knowingly. *Oh I know, Mom.” She really did, already Roland had Emma wrapped around his pinky finger. Her Dragon was already feeling protective of the boy. She would never let Robin anywhere close to her family. They were her family and she would protect them all. Maleficent smiled knowingly at her daughter.

Ruby nodded as she looked over at Regina. “I think we probably should get going. Gran will want to hear what happened. And she could help keep her eyes and ears open should the Charmings or even that bastard Robin say something or try something. She will be glad to know you and your sister have worked things out too.” She smiled knowingly.

Regina nodded. “Yes we should do that. We need more eyes and ears on outside to make sure they are not trying to start something they have no business starting.” She moved to hug her sister again. “Maybe you’d like to join us for breakfast in the morning? At Granny’s perhaps?”

Zelena nodded. “I would love to.” She smiled, returning the hug. “Good night sis.”

Regina smiled as she got Henry and then looked at the others. “Of course, you are all welcome to join us. The more, the merrier.” She looked at Emma as she said this.

Emma smiled at her best friend and nodded. “We’ll be there. Good night.” She followed them out and hugged them, closing the door after they left. She smiled as she joined her family and moved to Zelena’s side. She was so glad things had worked out for the better.

Maleficent smiled as she got a glass of blood wine to go. “I do believe I will head to my room for the night. See you all in the morning.”

“Yeah me too. I’m going to read the classifieds before I go to bed. Good night y’all.” Lily winked at her sister before she headed up to her room.

“Good night.” Emma smiled. And then she and Zelena moved to tuck Roland into bed.

Roland smiled at Emma. “I like you a lot. You make Mommy happy. Can you read me a story please?” He grinned, dimples and all.

Emma chuckled as she shared a look with Zelena and smiled. “Only if your Mommy helps me.” She winked as she tickled Roland and he laughed happily. “Please Mommy!!!”

Zelena laughed at the two of them. Completely in love with what she was seeing as they joined Roland on his bed and he picked his favorite story. They took turns playing each part in his favorite tale about Peter Rabbit. They had so much fun telling the tale this way and Roland enjoyed this version of storytelling so much. As he was falling asleep, he said it was the most fun story he ever heard. He hugged them and kissed their cheeks as they hugged and kissed him back, tucking him in and turning the light out, leaving the door ajar for him so he could see the night light in the hallway. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, feeling safe and loved.

Emma and Zelena shared a smile as they left his room. Zelena looked at the blonde. “You’re so good with kids. I know Henry’s your son and that you’ve never really had a chance to raise him from the time he was a baby. Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you ever had the chance to be a mother again… to experience it all over again without missing out?” She asked as she rubbed her abdomen.

Emma smiled at the question. “I do. Always. And when I was being moved around from foster home to foster home, sometimes I would help out with the younger kids. It was always hard to see them go to their new homes, knowing they were getting their best chance and knowing I would never have that. Don’t get me wrong. I was always happy for them. I just didn’t understand why it was so hard for anyone to accept me as I am. But then again, I realized it was because I was different. They didn’t know how to handle someone who was different.” Emma had a lot of suppressed memories of when she was much younger, having pushed them out of her mind. She knew she’d always had magic, but there were times in her childhood she had blocked them out. Blocking the memories of what she did… all she knew was bad things happened. At least that was what she heard some of the people said. That no one seemed to want her, it wasn’t just because she had gotten too old for them to adopt. After the last woman had almost adopted her, she’d run away when that same woman said she had powers… hidden powers and it freaked her out because… how had she known? She didn’t want to accept it, thinking this woman was crazy and she had blocked it away with all her other suppressed memories. Emma had no way of knowing she would find out one day.

Zelena then reached out and took a hold of Emma’s hand. “That’s why I get you and you get me. We’re the same, you and I.” She moved her hand to caress Emma’s cheek. “People always treated me like I was strange. Dangerous. That I was to be avoided or they would have a curse upon their heads. With the powers I have, they were afraid of me. But not you. Never you.” That alone, was something that she always found very intriguing about Emma Swan. It set her apart from everyone else she’d crossed paths with.

Emma smiled when she did that. Her Dragon liked that just as much as she did. “Yes sweetheart. We are so much alike.” She murmured in agreement. “I won’t let anyone look at you funny again. They will have me to deal with.” She promised, feeling the need, the desire to take Zelena into her arms.

Zelena chuckled, feeling so warm and fuzzy inside when Emma said that. “I wish I met you like this a long time ago. If anyone tried to challenge you or go after you, I’d…”

“Send the flying Monkeys after them.” They replied at the same time and laughed, stepping closer to each other. 

“Well I would!!!” Zelena smirked. She couldn’t take her eyes off Emma and she didn’t want to go to bed just yet. She didn’t want the night to be over any time soon. She bit her lip, wishing that Emma would kiss her again. This time on her lips.

Emma smiled sensually, having heard Zelena’s thoughts. She moved the redhead backwards until the wall met her back.

Zelena gasped in surprise, not aware that Emma had read her mind. “What are you…” her heartbeat quickened as her breath caught.

Emma chuckled softly as she put her finger on her lips, silencing her for the moment. “Kissing you.” She murmured as she captured her mouth into her own and kissed her passionately. Zelena moaned with pleasure, kissing her back just as passionately, a wave of energy pushed from them and spread out all over Storybrooke as they shared their True Love’s kiss.

They moaned in surprise at what happened and panted heavily, eyes wide open as their hands moved, wanting contact, not wanting to let go of each other. “Was that…” Zelena asked. She felt as if the earth was moving beneath her feet.

“Yeah baby, it was.” Emma replied huskily, holding Zelena firmly in her arms. She was not going to let her Queen fall. To her, Zelena was her mate, her Queen. They kissed again as they moved to Zelena’s room and locked the door as soon as they got inside.

Maleficent stepped out of her room and smiled knowingly at the closed door of Zelena’s bedroom. She knew exactly what was happening that night, with her daughter and her mate. She then moved over to Roland’s room and did a spell so Roland’s sleep wouldn’t be disrupted by his amorous parents. She checked on the boy, making sure he was okay. She smiled, satisfied that he was still sleeping. With another glance at Zelena’s door, she checked on Lily as well, making sure her daughter was settled in. They shared a knowingly chuckle when they heard sounds coming from Zelena and Emma’s room. Saying good night, she went back into her room for the night, but not before she called Ruby to explain they would need to get together at a better time.


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Zelena and Roland meet at Granny's diner with some news of their own. Regina gets jealous and upset. Emma chases after her to work things out with her. More surprises come out, Killian shows up.

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter 7

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. Well now Emma and Zelena have shared a true love’s kiss… What happens next? How will Regina or Henry react? Storybrooke will be getting visitors soon… so many exciting things happening soon… who is Snow and David’s daughter?... 

########

Zelena moaned again as she kissed Emma and helped her out of her clothes. Her hormones were spiraling out of control and all she wanted was for Emma to take her and have her way with her. She needed her badly and wanted to do so much with Emma, to give her everything she had. Until now, she’d never had such strong feelings like this before. She wanted to make Emma’s wishes come true. The blonde had already done so much for her in a short time. She’d given her the world already. She wanted to thank her in so many ways, to return the favor. She wanted to thank her for believing in her and trusting her. Zelena wanted Emma Swan. Even though they had butted heads in the past, it was almost like they were meeting for the first time. This must be what love at first sight feels like. Instant attraction, sparks flying, body temperatures rising. 

She wanted all of her and hoped Emma wanted her the same way. She wished Emma was HERS in every way that counted. She hoped more than anything that the true love’s kiss they had just shared, meant exactly that. Until Emma came into her life, she had never thought TrueLove could or would ever happen to someone like her, someone who was a Villain. Certainly not someone like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Yet it was happening. Emma moaned as she swept Zelena off her feet and carried her over to the bed, gently laying her down as soon as she magicked their clothes off. She heard every one of Zelena’s thoughts, and felt what she was feeling. She knew what her mate wanted, what she desired. “Zelena…” she inhaled deeply, smelling her arousal. It was a very intoxicating scent. “You have me. I will never leave you. I want to make you MINE. To claim you completely. Since I’m a Dragon, I want you as my mate. I love you Zelena Mills. I want you the same way you want me.” She breathed in deeply, memorizing her scent. She could smell her daughter’s scent as well and smiled when she realized what Zelena was having. She already loved this baby so deeply and was looking forward to claiming her as well. At the same time, she wanted to make sure Zelena knew what she was getting herself into and wanted to prepare her and make sure this was something Zelena wanted before they could proceed.

Zelena had happy tears falling down her cheeks when she heard how much Emma wanted HER. She could see it in the way the blonde was looking at her. There was this hunger in her eyes and it caused her stomach to clench with a need to have Emma inside her. She knew she was a Dragon through and through and it excited her. To hear that Emma wanted to claim her, to mate with her… already, ideas were forming in her head. She couldn’t help the thoughts she was having. She definitely wanted to mate with Emma, to make her HERS, to claim her. She wanted to try this with Emma. Smiling, she remembered the conversation they’d had earlier. “I want to do this with you. Tell me more please, Emma. I don’t think I want to be a Mills… not after what Cora did to me, to Regina. She didn’t want me to be her daughter. I’m Zelena West.” She bit her lip, her eyes dark with desire as she took in how beautiful her Emma was. She couldn’t believe they were both naked in her bed and about to take the next step together.

“Zelena West. I like it.” Emma smiled as she put her hand on Zelena’s barely showing abdomen, seeing traces of her pregnancy showing. She caressed her abdomen lovingly as she kissed her there. “Once I claim you as my mate, we will be married in the way of the Dragon. You can claim me too. You’ll be mine and I will be yours…”

“I want that, Emma!!” Zelena replied, kissing her passionately.

Emma wasn’t finished talking. “Once I claim you and make you mine…” she moaned, feeling the way Zelena kissed her neck. “This baby inside you… will be mine. When I claim you… a part of me will become a part of you both.”

“YESSSSS!!!” Zelena moaned. She wanted this baby to belong to Emma too, more than anything. She was so ready to do this with Emma. “Please do it!!! Make our baby yours!!!” She was so wet, so ready to take this next step with her. She didn’t want to wait any longer, feeling as if she were on fire now.

“I’m going to take you as a Dragon and claim you as my bride, my wife, the mother of our children.” Emma knew Zelena was already a shapeshifter, having seen her take on another form before. “When the time comes, just follow my lead.” Emma kissed her way down, lower and lower, inhaling deeply when she got to her dripping center. She smiled knowingly as she finally tasted her. She moaned, loving the way she tasted. Her eyes glowed with pleasure as she felt Zelena begin rocking against her. She hummed happily, taking her juices as she slipped her tongue inside her, faster and harder. Her teeth were starting to get sharper as her tongue grew longer, her talons came out. When that happened, Emma lifted her head from between Zelena’s legs and grinned knowingly at the redheaded beauty squirming beneath her. She moved over her, allowing her anatomy to change. Her voice was guttural as she spoke. “Change with me, my love.”

Zelena was so close to climaxing when she saw the way Emma looked mid transformation. She moaned loudly, loving what was happening the way Emma looked as she transformed into a beautiful Dragon. She nodded as her eyes glowed golden-emerald, she followed Emma’s lead as she imagined what she would look as a Dragon and shifted. She was beautiful!!! Green and black, her green scales tinged with reddish gold.

Emma purred with approval, loving how Zelena’s dragon form looked. *So beautiful!!! Such perfection!!!* Emma had transformed into a beautiful black and indigo dragon with crimson wings, her horns were exactly like her mother’s and she was magnificent. She was now more than ready to claim Zelena and their child as her own. She thrust deeply inside her mate as she began making sweet love with her.

Zelena moaned with surprise and awe, loving the way Emma looked as a dragon. She couldn’t believe this Dragon was hers now. She almost cried when Emma finally moved inside her. She growled with pleasure as she thrust back against her, meeting her thrust for thrust. *YESSSSS EMMA!!!*

Emma panted heavily as she thrust into her mate with passion, loving her with everything she was and so much more. Soon, she got her knot inside her, thrusting into her until it was all inside her, completely. She growled with joy, knowing she was about to claim Zelena. She then came with a roar of exquisite pleasure, flooding her inside as she bit down on Zelena’s neck and shoulder area, claiming them as her own. *I LOVE YOU ZELENAAAAA!!!*

The moment Zelena felt that knot move inside her and begin to swell inside her, the dragon inside her knew when to claim Emma. She clamped down and came hard all over her, biting her shoulder as she did. *I LOVE YOU EMMAAAAA!!!* She panted heavily, feeling whole for the first time in her life. She was so happy right now.

Emma held her wife in her arms, kissing her and loving on their daughter. She wanted so much to tell Zelena what she was having. *I love you so much! You and our baby girl.* She murmured.

Zelena gasped with pure joy at the knowledge they were having a girl. She was so glad they did this, but she felt like she wasn’t done yet. She wanted to do to Emma what she’d done to her. She smiled when she felt her Savior’s knot slip out. When that happened, she looked at Emma. *My turn now.* She smirked as she changed her anatomy and then thrust into her wife, wanting to take turns making sweet love with her over and over again until they were completely spent.

Emma moaned with surprise and pleasure when she felt Zelena move inside her and begin making love with her. They were too far gone now to stop. *YESSSSS BABYYYYY* They made love over and over again until they collapsed into each other’s arms, changing back to themselves, happy and completely sated.

########

When morning came, Emma was awake, watching her wife sleeping, a smile of contentment on her face. She was completely heads over heels in love with this redheaded beauty in her arms. Her hand was on her abdomen. She began tracing symbols on it as she loved on their daughter growing inside her. She began to hum softly, unable to help herself. She was just so happy right now. She knew if anyone ever dared to go after her wife, she would kill them. That was how protective of Zelena she was, her Dragon was.

Zelena began stirring awake when she heard Emma humming beautifully, and feeling what she was doing to her abdomen. It brought a smile to her face as she woke up in Emma Swan’s arms. She loved waking up like this. Memories of last night came rushing back to her right then and there. “Last night really happened didn’t it?”

Emma chuckled as her eyes twinkled. She decided to test her wife now that she’d left a part of herself inside both Zelena and their daughter. She wanted to see if the bonding effects of what she had given to them would work. *Good morning Mrs. Swan-West. It really did.* She kissed her wife deeply.

Zelena gasped as she broke out into a huge smile. “That’s going to be a very useful ability to have. Mrs. Swan-West? I love it!” She moved to snuggle closer to her wife. That was when she realized she was still feeling the effects of making love all night long. “Oh yeah, I’m certainly feeling the effects of last night… what about you darling?”

Emma chuckled knowingly. “Oh I’m feeling it too baby. More than you know.” She was still basking in the after effects of their lovemaking. Shall we make our joining official?” She asked as she used magic to produce their wedding bands.

Zelena beamed as she looked from Emma to the rings and back at Emma. “I would love to, Mrs. Swan-West.” She loved the way it sounded on her tongue and was over the moon about what they did last night. She took one of the rings while Emma took the other and they made vows to each other in bed before placing the rings on each other’s fingers.

The moment they did, the rings glowed in completion, signaling that their union was blessed by the gods. A burst of energy moved through them, binding them even closer. They gasped with joy and kissed passionately when that happened. Just then, they realized they were both very hungry.

Emma laughed knowingly. “Let’s take a shower together and get dressed. We’re supposed to meet your sister at Granny’s remember?”

Zelena smiled. We don’t want to stand my sister up then.” She chuckled as they moved to shower and get ready.

By the time they came downstairs, Maleficent, Lily and Roland were ready and waiting for them. Both dragons were smirking at them in a knowing manner.

“It’s a good thing I was still awake last night after you put Roland to bed. I had to soundproof the room for you so Roland wouldn’t be up all night long, listening to you two.” Maleficent replied.

Emma and Zelena blushed when they realized they would need to do that from now in. “Thanks Mom. Sorry about that. I hope we didn’t keep you two up.”

“Well it was a very enlightening experience…” Lily started, smirking when she saw the look on her sister’s face. “Aww I’m just kidding sis! The look on your face!” She snickered. “Don’t worry, Mom made me go deaf for a while.” She gave a playful little pout.

Zelena bit her lip and tried not to laugh when Maleficent gave Lily a look that put her in her place. She could tell that Lily was going to be fun to tease. Already, she was plotting ways to repay her for that remark of hers. She turned to look at her mother-in-law. “Thank you for thinking of Roland.” She smiled in appreciation as she moved into Emma’s arms.

Emma smirked at her twin. “Just you wait…” she had a look of mischief in her eyes.

“Mommy! Ma!” Roland had adopted the name Henry called his blond mother and decided to call Emma that as he ran and hugged them.

“Think nothing of it.” Maleficent smiled at them as she chuckled softly. She knew exactly what had happened between her daughter and Zelena. Not just by hearing them go at it all night long, but by the marks she could see on their neck/shoulders. “Congratulations on your mating.” She moved to hug them. The moment she did, she inhaled deeply, wanting to check something out. Oh yes, something definitely happened with them in more ways than one. “Welcome to our family Zelena. I’m happy for you darlings.” She loved it that they were giving her more grandchildren to love, but didn’t elaborate on it just yet. She and Lily looked at their rings, seeing that they’d done more than mate in the way of the Dragon.

Lily grinned happily as she hugged her sister first, doing the same thing their mother did. She inhaled deeply and then chuckled knowingly before she turned to hug Zelena. “Yeah welcome to the fam, sis-in-law.” She winked before turning her attention on Roland. She ruffled his curly head. “So can we go to Granny’s? I’m starving!”

Emma was touched by what Roland called her and so was Zelena. They shared knowing smiles as they hugged their son and kissed his head lovingly. “Yes, let’s get going.” She was more than ready to get some food as she knew Zelena was as well. The two of them reached out and took a hold of Roland as they left in green smoke.

Maleficent shared a knowing smile with Lily as they too left in grey smoke and they all arrived at Granny’s as a family.

The moment they’d arrived, little Roland broke free and ran over to Regina, happy to see her. “Gina! Gina!”

Regina lit up when she saw Roland and gave him a hug as she noticed how happy he was now. “My little moppet.” She beamed, kissing his cheek.

Henry smiled happily when he saw his Ma had finally showed up. He beckoned for them to come sit with him. “Ma! Aunt Zee. Come sit here.”

They moved to sit with them, seeing that Ruby was also seated with them had surprised Emma. Ruby had been given the day off.

“Hey Rubes!” Emma grinned, glad to see she was off duty for once.

Maleficent and Lily joined them, liking the fact the tables were already pushed together and ready for them. “Good morning darlings.” The older dragon was clearly in a good mood.

Regina noticed, but before she could ask to see what was going on, Granny had come to their table and started taking their orders before she had her other waitress bring the orders to their other cook she had working with her.

Granny was in the mood to talk with this group after what she’d heard from Ruby the other night about what happened. She was also very curious about what Maleficent was offering her granddaughter. She pulled up a chair to talk with them, sitting near Emma and Lily. She took a deep breath, prepared to say something when she was struck by certain scents coming from Emma and Zelena.

Ruby frowned at first, seeing the look of confusion and shock on Gran’s face. She wondered what was going on when it too, hit her hard. She gasped in surprise and smiled at the newly mated couple, seeing there were several things going on with them. “You’re mated!!!” She was beyond thrilled for Emma and Zelena.

Granny beamed happily when she looked at the pair. “Well this calls for a celebration!!!” She noticed the rings they were wearing and fawned over them. “Congratulations!!! Oh breakfast needs to be my treat!” She got up and moved to take care of the orders for Emma and Zelena, temporarily forgetting what she wanted to talk with them about.

Henry was surprised when he saw something had changed with his blond mother and his Aunt Zee. Upon seeing the rings, he asked. “Does this mean what I think it means? You got married?”

Emma nodded while grinning happily. “Yeah Kid. Are you okay with this?” She bit her lip nervously when she saw the indecision in her son’s eyes.

Henry could see how his Grandma and Aunt Lily were happy. He saw the way Ruby and Granny were both beaming. He still had yet to understand the way of the Dragon. “I guess if she makes you happy. But why would you get married without inviting us to your wedding? He was trying to understand what happened and he couldn’t help but to be hurt that they would get married without him or his mom there to celebrate with them.

Emma was at a loss for words as she was caught by surprise. She turned to look at Regina, seeing that she was getting upset as well. She shook her head. “It’s not what you think. We didn’t exactly have a wedding planned and…”

Regina scoffed as she stood up and glared at Emma and Zelena. Her appetite lost. “Yeah what the hell was that all about? You both getting married and you didn’t bother to tell me or Henry?! She’s in your life for all of ONE day and you just…” She waved her hands at them indignantly. “And all that talk of forgiveness… was that a joke to you when you decided to exclude us?! I thought we were family! And Emma… you… damn it!!! You’re supposed to be my… my best friend!!!” She stormed out.

Zelena stood up, planning to go after her sister.

“Let me. I need to explain this to Regina.” Emma got up and ran after Regina.

“Henry. Please sit down. We need to explain to you about what happened.” Maleficent had her hand on her grandson’s shoulder. “Let your parents talk. They will be fine. Your mother and your Aunt Zelena did not set out to hurt either one of you. They did not have a traditional wedding. In fact, there was NO wedding at all. They mated. In the way of the Dragon, that’s how they married. In bed. Not in front of a crowd of people. I am sure if they still wanted to have a traditional wedding, they could invite and get married again in front of family and friends.”

Henry blushed hard when he heard what his grandmother said. “Mated? You mean like… Oh.” His ears got even redder as he realized what she was talking about. “I get it now. I’m sorry. Well does that mean you’re my step mom?” He asked, looking at Zelena.

Zelena smiled, “You’re welcome to call me whatever you like. Whatever makes you comfortable. I never meant to hurt you or your mom. It just happened. I love your mama so very much. I look forward to getting to know you better. Besides… this baby will be your sister too.” She smiled, rubbing her abdomen.

Henry nodded. “I just hope that doesn’t mean Robin will be a part of our lives too. I can’t even stand him.”

Maleficent smiled. “No Henry. Not at all. When your mama claimed Zelena as her mate, her bride, she also claimed this baby and made it to where this baby will be every bit her daughter. She is your sister. Robin no longer has a hold over her. Come here, take a look at Zelena. Tell me if you can see anything.” She was curious to see since Henry was Emma’s son, if he could see the mark on Zelena’s neck/shoulder. Shapeshifters would be able to see the marks. Even those who would develop shapeshifting abilities later.

Henry looked, frowning at first as he wondered what he was supposed to be looking at. He looked, his eyes sweeping over Zelena. And then he gasped as he looked at her neck. “I see what looks like a huge bite mark on your neck. What happened?”

Maleficent smiled proudly. “When your mama comes back, you will notice the same thing on her neck. That’s how they claimed each other. That’s how dragons claim their mates.”

“Did it hurt?” Henry asked Zelena.

His aunt smiled. “Not at all young man… maybe a little at first, but then it went away and it was just fine. I’m glad she claimed me as her wife and that I claimed her as mine. We got these rings with magic and they glowed, loving we have the blessings of the Gods. It was so perfect. But if you want us to have a real wedding, I’m sure we can do that.”

Ruby spoke up then. “You know Granny and I are wolves too. Well that’s what happens when we claim our mate when we find our true love.” She explained. “We usually don’t have the traditional weddings humans do, but it’s been done.”

########

Emma chased Regina to the docks. “Regina! Please! We need to talk about this! I promise you there was no wedding! If there was, you would be the first I would go to. If anything, I would want you to be my maid of honor! You’re my best friend!”

Regina scoffed as she stopped and turned to look at Emma indignantly. “That’s not the point! I…” she shook her head. “No you don’t get to… why my sister?! Why would you choose her when you could have had m…” she realized she was pointing at herself and allowed her arm to drop at her side. She let it hang, realizing she’d said too much. She bit her lip and looked away, afraid to face the blonde now.

Emma’s jaw dropped in surprise as her eyes widened when she realized what Regina was about to say. “You?” Emma replied softly as she realized what Regina’s problem was. “Regina. Please look at me.” She saw the brunette shaking her head, refusing to comply. Emma sighed as she moved to face her best friend. “Regina?” She put her hand on her shoulder.

Regina wiped her eyes, feeling embarrassed and angry with herself. She was so sure she’d ruined their friendship for good now. “Just go back to my sister. She’s the one you want to be with. Just forget what I said and leave me alone.”

Emma knew all of Regina’s tactics and wasn’t about to let her push her away and put a wall up between them like she’d done several times in the past. “Regina don’t do this please. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. You’re my best friend and I love having you as my best friend. Maybe in another life, we’d be together. But you and I, we share a wonderful son. I love you for taking him in and raising him when I couldn’t at the time. I love it that we are raising him together. I love it even more that we became friends in spite of everything that happened. But even then, you’re still family to me. You know what that means to me more than anything! We’re sisters now.” She smiled.

Regina looked at Emma and sighed deeply. “I get what you’re saying. I do. But no one has ever understood me the way you do. I thought… I always wondered what it would have been like if we had hooked up a long time ago. I always thought about you… but maybe it’s my fault because I didn’t know how to approach you and let you know how I really felt. I suppose I waited too long.”

Emma gave Regina an apologetic smile. “Maybe you just need to find your true love. I know if we tried, it wouldn’t have been fair to you or to me. Because I finally found my true love… with your sister. My dragon just knew before it happened. I knew from the moment we rescued her from Robin, that she was meant to be mine… otherwise I wouldn’t have done what I did to that pinecone… breaking his nose and all.” She chuckled at the memory. “I have to believe you’ll find that too. Maybe you have already and you don’t know it yet.” She gave her a cocky smile.

“How would you know? I mean…” Regina gasped then as she realized something. “The blast last night? That was you and my sister wasn’t it?” She asked with a whisper.

Emma nodded. “Yes it was. We were caught by surprise. I’m just sorry that it made you upset. That was never my intention to upset you. I never want to hurt you. I would hurt anyone who ever dared try to hurt you. If anyone tried that with your sister…” Emma chuckled. “Well you already know what I would do.”

Regina scoffed as she remembered exactly what Emma did when she found out Robin had been beating Zelena up. “I know you would.” She chuckled. “I would destroy anyone who tried to hurt you or my sister or Henry.” She smiled, finally accepting that Emma was with her sister now. “I guess I’m glad it’s you because it looks like you do get each other… being abandoned and all. I know you’re good enough for Zelena. I hope she realizes how lucky she is to have you.”

Emma smiled as she pulled Regina into a hug. “You’re good enough to be my best friend, my sister-in-law, my soul sister. We have a bond shared. That will never change.” She reminded her. “Let’s get back to Granny’s?”

Regina nodded and smiled as they went back together. She realized she was so grateful to still have Emma in her life. Even if it meant she was with her sister instead of her. Maybe Emma was right. Maybe there could be some good things to come out of this. Maybe she would be able to finally find her true love without the distraction of Robin Hood. He was no longer in her life and she was glad for it.

#####

The moment they arrived at the diner, Regina was relieved to see that Henry was no longer upset and was having a good time with his family there. Regina smiled as she joined them. “I would like to apologize for the misunderstanding we had earlier. Emma explained everything to me. Congratulations Sis, Emma.” She smiled at the blonde. “Welcome to the family.” She chuckled, knowing very well they were already a family.

Zelena grinned, glad to see her sister was okay now. She moved and hugged her tightly. “I’m so glad you’re okay with this. I cannot wait to share some things with you…”

Ruby lit up when she saw Regina was back and she was alright. She pulled out a chair for her to sit in, smiling when Regina took the offered seat and allowed Ruby to seat her. She smiled at the taller brunette, appreciating that Ruby was there. “Thank you dear.” She murmured.

Ruby grinned, “You’re welcome, Milady.” She winked at Regina as she sat down next to her.

Emma noticed what was going on and smiled knowingly at them. She shared a look with her wife as they all began conversing. They picked up where they left off.

Henry grinned at his blond mother. “Congrats Ma! Grandma explained everything. I’m happy for you two.”

Emma grinned at her son. “Thanks kid! That means a lot to us.” Zelena nodded in confirmation.

Henry then whispered in his Grandmother’s ear. “I see what you mean.” He said regarding the marks he saw on his mother’s shoulder and neck area. The older dragon beamed knowingly, feeling proud of Henry. She couldn’t wait to tell Emma about it when the time was right.

Granny brought over more food, the dragons ate steak and eggs as did Ruby and herself. She made sure Emma and Zelena both had an extra helping, much to the amusement of Maleficent.

Regina’s eyebrows rose in surprise as she noticed what Granny was doing.

Emma knew Granny was happy for them being mated and all. “At least let me pay for that second…” Her stomach growled. She was feeling ravenous as she paused and began realizing what was going on.

Maleficent and Lily were both smirking big time as they looked at Emma, watching her put one and two together. “Hmm hm.” The older dragon nodded. *Look deep inside darling, what do you see?*

Granny simply winked at Emma as Ruby gave her a wolf grin.

Emma’s jaw dropped as she finally figured out what was going on with her appetite and everything else, seeing what she saw deep inside. But before she could react, someone came into the diner and disrupted what she was going to say. Her eyes grew darker at the approaching individual.

“Emma?” Zelena was beginning to realize something was happening. Just then, her eyes grew darker as she realized just who had showed up, unwelcome.

Killian sauntered into the diner with that arrogant smile on his face. “Hey Emma… where have you been? I’ve been looking for you and your parents said you would probably come here. Why the hell would you wanna stay with that… that wicked witch at her house?! You should be with me and let them take her and…”

Emma growled loudly as she looked at that stupid clueless pirate. “It’s none of your damned business what I decide to do with MY life.” She bristled, hating it that he had the nerve to interrupt her meal with her family especially at a time when she was about to deal with life changing news.

“Emma, you’re my girl and I’m just looking out for y…” Killian started.

“We. Are. Not. Together. We never were! Just because you tried kissing me in Neverland… that doesn’t mean we’re dating. I mean eww!!! Let me make one thing crystal clear. I don’t go for the male sex. Not that way. You’re barking up the wrong tree.” She moved her arm around Zelena’s shoulders. “As for this Wicked Witch, I’m in love with her. I love Zelena Swan-West.” She made sure everyone heard her loud and clear. “That’s right, you heard it here.” She showed Killian her wedding band as did Zelena and they both smirked at the pirate.

Killian stumbled with himself in shock. “You can’t be with HER!!! Clearly she has you under a spell!!!” He wasn’t willing to accept that Emma was with that bitch. Or that she liked women or that she’d actually married that damned witch! He then began laughing. “She can’t even give you what I can!!! She doesn’t have what it takes!!!” He yelled.

“Wanna bet?” Emma smirked.

Zelena smirked at the filthy pirate. “You sure about that stumpy? You forget we’re shapeshifters. You didn’t know Emma was one did you?” She chuckled. “You don’t know her as personally as I do. Wanna trade stories? You wouldn’t have a note to compare if you’ve never been with my Dragon.” She caressed Emma’s thigh intimately as she moved closer to her.

Killian’s eyes narrowed when he saw the way Zelena was touching his Emma. He frowned in confusion. “Dragon?” The only dragon he recognized was Maleficent. “Not you and her?!” He pointed at the older dragon, feeling lost. Wasn’t Zelena with Emma?

Lily laughed. “Try again doofus. She’s not talking about my mother or me. She’s talking about my twin sister, Emma. Oh, didn’t you know? Oops.” She shrugged.

Emma smiled as she winked at Lily and then looked back at Killian. “Yes me. Maleficent is our mother.” She showed him her wrist which bore the mark of the moon on it. Lily did the same, showing her star shaped mark. “Now I do believe we were talking about whether or not my beautiful redheaded wife here, has what it takes to give to me what YOU seem to think only you or a man could give to me.” She gestured toward his crotch. She and Zelena both chuckled as they turned to kiss one another in front of a fuming Killian.

“Well yeah! She’s a woman! She can’t…” Killian shook his head as he prepared to say more.

Emma smirked at him. “Actually she can, and she has.” She dug into her food with relish.

Zelena gasped as she realized what her wife was implying. Her eyes trailed to look at her still flat abdomen. “Emma!” How could she know this so soon?

Maleficent smiled at Zelena. “It’s a Dragon thing. We tend to know those kinds of things right away. Something I am sure you will experience very soon.” She winked at her daughter-in-law. “Congratulations darling.”

Regina was surprised with the news. But this time, she was happy for them. Or at least, trying to be. “That’s wonderful news.” She smiled and then looked at Killian. “Well there you have it. She’s taken. You’re better off chasing after those harlots. They are better suited for your needs.” She smiled smugly.

“But…” Killian was grasping at straws and digesting everything he’d learned. The Charmings would not be happy to hear this. He still believed Emma was under a spell. There was no way that she was a Dragon! No way she was really married to the wicked witch of the west. He wasn’t going to accept their lies.

Zelena had enough of him, wanting more than anything to celebrate the news with her wife. She formed a wicked looking ball of green flames in her hand. “You heard my wife. Now unless you want me to roast you and feed you to Emma and her family…” she smirked when Killian scampered away with a bruised ego. She then turned to look at Emma, a big smile on her face. “Another baby to love… I love you so much!!!” She kissed her deeply, feeling over the moon right now. She knew there was no way she would let anyone hurt them.


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cleo Fox is back from the dead and they all are dealing with her presence. They have quite a story to share with her.

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter 8

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. Uh oh!!! Rumple brought back trouble… well, let you decided if that’s really trouble or will Emma put a hitch in good old Rumple’s plans? How will our blonde deal with this new distraction? How will Zelena react? Will the green monster rear its head? Who are the other Visitors? Read to find out…

#####

In the pawnshop, Mr. Gold had a smirk on his face. “Good. You’re here now. I know you have questions. I’d help you, but I know someone else who could also help you find the answers you seek, dearie. Right now, I have other matters to take care of. Welcome back, Cleo Fox.” He stood up and led Cleo to the door and opened it. “Right down the street, over that a ways, you’ll find an old friend… or is that… flame?” He chuckled. “Emma Swan is at Granny’s Diner, eating breakfast. I’m sure she will be surprised to see you here.”

Cleo stared at this man, wondering what the hell she was doing there. She did not recall ever being anywhere like this place before. She was supposed to be dead wasn’t she? Wherever this place was… she didn’t know what to make of it. What exactly had happened? Why couldn’t she seem to remember? Everything was fuzzy to her. But then this strange man mentioned Emma… Suddenly she was glad to know there was someone she knew here in this strange town. Finally a familiar person to talk with. She walked out of the shop and headed in the direction the man spoke of. She could see Granny’s Diner.

She wasn’t the only visitor in Storybrooke. A portal opened as three women arrived. A curly red haired woman, a princess and a female dark haired warrior appeared. Merida, Aurora, and Mulan had just arrived.

#####

While Emma and Zelena were celebrating their good news, Granny decided to bring them some dessert. Everyone happily dug into their sweet chocolate delicacy.

Ruby looked at Regina and smiled at the Mayor. She decided it was time to grab the bull by its horns and just ask the Mayor what she’d been wanting for a long time to ask. “Hey Regina. If I asked you out for drinks later tonight, would you like to go out with me?” She bit her lower lip, trying not to show how nervous she was. She put on a brave smile, hoping Regina would take her up on going for drinks that night.

Regina was surprised at Ruby’s question. “You’re asking me out?” She looked her up and down, checking to see if she was serious.

Ruby looked back at her a bit worriedly. “Yeah… I mean if you want to… is it too soon to ask you out?” She bit her lip again. It was a nervous habit of hers.

The other woman smiled amusedly. As her eyebrows rose, she murmured. “Why Miss Lucas, aren’t you getting all flustered?” She smirked. She saw how Ruby was blushing and chuckled at that. When she decided she had teased the taller brunette enough, she smiled sensually. “I would absolutely love to.”

Ruby gave Regina an ear to ear grin as she sighed with relief. “How about 7 or 8 tonight?”

Regina continued smiling. “Let’s make it 7:30, shall we?” She winked flirtatiously at her. She didn’t think it would be a bad idea to have fun with the wolf tonight.

Just then, the door to the diner opened.

Zelena was smiling at Emma as she moved closer, feeling their legs touching. She loved being this close to her blonde. They talked about changes happening and making arrangements for Henry to have his own room at their house for whenever he decided to spend time with them sometimes. She was so happy her nephew was giving her another chance. She was starting to like this feeling of being a part of a family. Her hormones were beginning to get the better of her and she was starting to feel emotional. She tried not to let it show.

Henry knew better. He was watching his redheaded aunt closely as they talked. He reached over and took a hold of her hand. “You know what? Maybe I’ll even teach you to play some games with me on my…” Before he could finish the sentence, he was interrupted by someone else.

“Emma?” A woman’s voice rang out behind her. “Is that you?”

Emma was startled by a familiar voice from her past. She gasped when she felt arms move around her shoulders and smelled that familiar scent of leather and vanilla and gardenias. Her eyes widened in pure unexpected shock when the woman kissed her. She put her hands up and tried to put some distance between them so she could get some better control of the situation. Her Dragon did not like it when someone else who wasn’t her mate was all over her. Neither did she. But the fact this woman was alive shocked her. “Cleo?! What the hell?! I thought… I mean… You’re supposed to be dead!!!”

The other brunette smiled, “I know! I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this, babe. I’m not sure if this is all just a dream or not but then it was like I passed out after you climbed through that window and I didn’t have that glass sticking out of me like that… but you… um… and then I realized I was in this strange place and this weird guy was telling me to come here and that you were here waiting for me… something seems off I don’t…” she looked harder at Emma, trying to figure out what was wrong with the blonde. “Where are your glasses?”

Regina frowned when she looked at this strange woman who had showed up in her town. She hated when strangers found their way to Storybrooke. That usually meant trouble was around the corner and she didn’t like it one bit. When she heard what Emma called her, she put two and two together and remembered hearing about this Cleo something from Emma’s past, how this woman had changed her life and inspired her to want to be a better person. She remembered everything Emma had shared with her about this woman, including the fact she’d had a crush on her. She bit her lip as she then turned to look at her sister. She knew Zelena was prone to getting jealous and literally letting the green eyed monster out.

Zelena was glaring daggers at this newcomer. A scowl was forming on her face as her hackles rose. She didn’t like it when this Cleo was all over Emma, kissing her and calling her Babe. She wanted to throw a fireball at her and incinerate her on the spot. Already, her face was starting to turn green.

Regina sighed and shook her head, afraid this was going to happen. “Zelena no…”

“Emma darling, do me a favor. Tell this bitch to put her claws in a vat of boiling lard and leave them there…” Zelena growled, her eyes flashing dangerously as she looked Cleo up and down.

Cleo blinked in surprise when she saw how this woman’s face had turned green. She’d never seen anything like that before. Well the only time she recalled seeing a woman with green skin was in a movie she’d seen a few times before. “Uhmmm… what’s going on Emma?” She was beginning to realize there was something very seriously wrong here. Especially with this strange redhead. “Am I still having a crazy dream?” She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes, trying to see if she would be able to wake up from this dream.

Emma looked at her wife and moved abruptly away from Cleo and moved even closer to Zelena’s side. “Hey baby, no…” she tried to put her arms around her shoulders. “It’s not what you think. Remember? I love YOU.” She emphasized.

Zelena was still very pissed off. She wasn’t angry with Emma, just with that woman. She didn’t like anyone touching what was hers. She’d smirked when she saw how Emma had pushed Cleo’s hands away. Had she been a Dragon, like Emma, she would have devoured her on the spot. She was tempted to shapeshift and do just that. “Make sure SHE knows that.” She then pulled Emma closer and kissed her deeply, wanting to show that bitch who Emma’s heart belonged to. She then got up and moved over to Cleo, smiling wickedly as she towered over her. “Keep your hands off MY wife. Because if you don’t, you’re going to have a problem with me, my pretty.” She cackled as she waved her hand and her broom appeared and then the door to the diner opened, and Zelena flew out of there.

Lily bit the inside of her cheek in amusement. “You’ve got a very hormonal witch on your hands right now, sis.” She winked.

When that happened, Mulan came into the diner. “Was that the Wicked Witch we just saw? What did she want?”

Aurora’s eyes widened when she saw someone else there at the diner. She locked eyes with Maleficent. “Why does SHE have to be here?”

The dragon laughed, “Because this is my home too, Aurora. What are YOU doing here?” She smirked darkly. “Sleeping Beauty, here for another dose of my sleeping spell?”

Emma sighed and shook her head. She turned to look at her old friend, still wondering how in the hell she was alive again after all these years. She wanted to go after her wife and to assure her that she had nothing to worry about. But at the same time, she still needed answers.

She wasn’t the only one. Cleo was just as confused as ever. “Emma?” She pointed in the direction the green skinned witch had flown off into. “What the hell was that? And who are they?” She noticed the three newcomers that had just arrived and was looking at the group of people who were there with Emma. The three newcomers were wearing very different clothes from the others. “Is there some kind of costume party or something going on? I can tell I’m not in Arizona anymore. Are we still in Maine somewhere?” She asked.

“That was my wife, Zelena.” Emma sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s been about 15 years since you died. You are not in any known town at all. At least to the outside world. You are not dreaming. Somehow you are alive again. This man that you saw… did he give you a name?” She had her suspicions on who the culprit was that had brought Cleo here.

Cleo frowned as she tried to remember anything about the man she’d seen earlier. “Um… he was very creepy. He has some sort of a shop with all kinds of random items. Kinda like a store that sells used things… I don’t know… but it had display counters…” She was not sure how to react to being dead for so long. It explained why Emma was no longer wearing glasses. And Emma was married? She was trying to wrap her head around that fact. “Your wife is the freaking Wicked Witch of the West?! Okay now I know I’m dreaming.” She sat down in Zelena’s empty seat and looked around at everyone who was staring at her.

“Yep. I know you’re not used to this world… well…” Emma started.

The kid spoke up before she could get a word in. “You’re in Storybrooke. I promise this isn’t a dream. It’s all real. You’re here because my grandpa brought you back. Here, he goes by Mr. Gold. But he’s really Rumplestiltskin.”

Cleo stared at the boy who clearly had an active imagination. She smirked, deciding to play along. “Right And you’re telling me fairytales are real? Who are you anyways?”

Henry smiled. “I’m Emma’s son, Henry. Regina is also my mom. Emma gave birth to me, Regina adopted me so I’m their son. And fairytales are real here in Storybrooke.”

Cleo eyed Emma. “That’s your kid? The one you told me you gave up when you were in jail? Why are you letting him believe…” she could see the resemblance between them.

Emma chuckled as she wrapped her arm around her son’s shoulders. “I was a skeptic like you, four years ago. My son found me and brought me here. When I first arrived, it took me a while before I finally realized it was all real. Believe it or not, you’re surrounded by fairytale characters and you’re not dreaming. You’re wide awake. This is Regina. She was the Evil Queen. And this lady here, that’s Maleficent. And sitting next to Regina, this is Ruby. She’s known as Little Red Riding Hood. And that’s her grandmother. This is her Diner. And those three who arrived after you did… that’s Merida, Aurora, and Mulan. Yes, I am married to Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West and she is from Oz.” 

Merida, Mulan and Aurora were surprised to see that Emma had married the witch they’d had a confrontation with in the past. 

Emma continued, “Zelena also happens to be Regina’s half sister. And this is Lily, my twin sister.” Now that she was looking at Cleo and since she was a dragon, she was starting to notice certain things about her. She smelled familiar and looked like someone she knew. She almost laughed when it hit her. “Rumple brought you here on purpose. I don’t know why, or what his agenda is but maybe you’re meant to be here after all.” She smirked at the irony of it all. She couldn’t wait for the others to catch on to what she just discovered.

Regina looked at Emma, a look of surprise on her face. “Why would you say that?”

Ruby nodded in agreement after she sniffed the air around Cleo. “You smell like the Charmings.”

Lily scoffed when she turned to look at Cleo. She inhaled deeply as a dark smile came on her face. “Well now that Ruby mentions it… you do smell like them.”

Maleficent laughed. “Oh this is rich. The prodigal daughter finally returns.” She chuckled. She couldn’t wait to see the look on those Charmings faces when they discover Emma isn’t theirs but now that Cleo was here… things were going to be very interesting.

Emma never took her eyes off her former crush. She could see it in Cleo’s face. “You do look so much like your father…”

“Why the hell are you all looking at me like I’m a juicy piece of steak? You’re all crazy if you believe yourselves to being some fairy tale characters. You’re certifiably insane!!!” Cleo wasn’t having any of it. 

Lily chose this moment to get into Cleo’s face. She growled, her eyes glowing as she snapped. “Believe me lady, we’re NOT crazy!!! Remember you were a dead bitch not so long ago. Now who brought you back from the dead dumbass?!”

Emma glared at Cleo. “Nobody calls my son crazy! You’re a stranger here. You sure you want to isolate yourself from everyone?! Rumplestiltskin clearly brought you here with an agenda in mind. He ALWAYS has an agenda and no. We’re not crazy. Take a good look around!!! Ruby here, she’s not just little red riding hood. She’s the big bad wolf…”

Ruby smirked. “I’m a werewolf.” Her eyes glowed.

Emma chuckled knowingly then. “See? She’s nothing like the little girl in the typical fairytale you’ve read about.” Her eyes had such mischief in them. “Don’t you realize just exactly who you are sitting next to?”

Regina smiled deviously as she turned to look at Cleo. She used magic and brought forth a red shining apple.

Cleo eyed the apple in Regina’s hand and blinked in surprise. Was that magic? And what happened with Lily’s eyes? “Okaaay what the hell’s going on?”

Henry shook his head. “If she ever offers you an apple, don’t eat it.” He advised.

Emma smiled knowingly at Regina and Lily before looking back at Cleo. “Lily and I reunited and we found our birth mother, reuniting with her. We’re the daughters of Maleficent. We’re dragons. Magic is very real and you better get used to it. Remember you were looking for your birth parents? We know who your birth parents are. You’re the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Yes. That Snow White. That’s the Evil Queen who poisoned Snow White. Can you believe it? I share a son with her.” She smirked before she continued. “Your parents are in a world of trouble right now. Cleo, our paths were meant to cross when they did. It happened not too far away from here. Where you found me trying to track down my birth parents right? Remember how I was investigating my birth parents and how I ended up on the side of the road… supposedly.”

Cleo nodded. “I remember.” She started to relax. “Tell me everything.”

Emma sighed as she moved. “Only it wasn’t me that ended up there. It was you. I didn’t know it at the time. But YOU are the baby that was found there at the side of the road.” She paused. “Before I tell you more…” she looked at Ruby who nodded and moved another table and several chairs so Merida, Mulan, and Aurora could also sit with them. She grabbed another chair for Cleo. Emma smiled. “I’m going to go get my wife before we tell you everything.”

Cleo nodded. “You won’t let her hurt me will you? I’m sorry for what I did… I assumed…”

Emma smirked. “Hang tight.” She left in smoke much to the surprise of Cleo Fox.

“What the…” Cleo yelped as she jumped in surprise. The others laughed at how she reacted. Suddenly, she realized how alone she was in this strange place. She felt uncomfortably alone in a room full of strangers.

Henry smiled at Cleo. “It’s okay, not everyone has magic. Just my moms, my aunts and my grandparents.” He paused. “And well… the fairies to name a few.”

#####

Emma found Zelena at her farmhouse. She was angrily smashing some plates. Emma smirked. “Hello honey, I’m home.” She appeared behind her wife and wrapped her arms I around her waist from behind and proceeded to kiss her neck where she’d marked her.

Zelena moaned when Emma kissed that special spot. It made her weak in the knees. It was a very special spot that served as a reminder of their mating spot. It showed them that they belonged together and that nothing and no one else could touch or break their bond. “I wanted to rip that hussy apart! To have my monkeys tear her apart limb by limb!!!” Zelena admitted. She was still green. “She shouldn’t have touched you. You’re mine!!!”

Emma’s eyes glowed with desire. “Yes I am, just as you’re mine love. She didn’t realize. But she knows now. She’s scared of you.” She couldn’t help but to chuckle at this.

Zelena smirked. “Who the hell was she?”

Emma sighed. “My bail bonds person. I’d skipped bail and she chased me. I ran from the law and she was supposed to take me back to Arizona to face the music for my crimes. I had a little crush on her back then. I begged her to let me find out more about my birth parents and then I would go quietly back with her once I got what I was looking for. She changed my life. We kissed once or twice but I kept running. She kept chasing me and it cost her her life. She died because of me. I was still young… still troubled and I didn’t trust anyone. Not even her.”

Zelena narrowed her eyes. “You had a crush on HER?!”

Emma smiled. “Had being the key word. That’s in the past tense. A crush, nothing more.” She smirked when she realized Zelena was jealous. “You my beautiful wicked witch, stole MY heart. Just as I stole yours. That’s something she’s never had from me and she never will. My dragon chose YOU. I chose you. Zelena, I love you and only you.” She kissed her passionately to prove her point.

Zelena moaned, but she wanted to make absolutely sure. “But what if she tries to steal you from me? I will hurt her so bad if she tries…”

Emma chuckled. “You and I shared a true love’s kiss. That means no one else would be able to share that with me. I’m yours Zelena Swan-West and YOU ARE MINE!!!” She growled possessively. My dragon wants ONLY YOU!!! She would accept no one else. She’s liable to destroy anyone who tries to take you from me. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Remember you got me pregnant. You have me. She doesn’t. Now shut up sweetheart, and have your wicked way with me!!!” She moved against Zelena and kissed her neck, knowing what that kiss alone, was doing to her.

Zelena grinned as she did just that. They made love passionately and with urgency, each wanting to prove their love over and over again. They made love as dragons once more before they were sated.

Emma and Zelena lay there, grinning as they snuggled, basking in the aftermath of their passion. “We better get back to the diner. Cleo needs to know what’s going on. Turns out she’s the daughter of those damned Charmings. We’re about to tell her the whole ugly truth about her parents and what happened. After all, Lily and I have her darkness inside us.” Emma smirked.

Zelena laughed. “I cannot wait to see the look on her face.” She couldn’t help but to be smug about it.

They got dressed and kissed again before they left in green smoke, arriving at the diner. They saw that everyone was talking and eating. Emma and Zelena moved back to their seats, hand in hand.

“It’s about time Sis!” Lily smirked knowingly. *Is your hormonal witchy wife completely sated now?*

Maleficent chuckled and winked at the pair. *Nice one Lily. Good for you Emma. Now it’s time to tell Snow’s little brat our story.*

Emma smirked at her sister and their mother. *Oh yeah in more ways than one.* She winked at them before looking at Cleo. She saw the way she was looking at Zelena and snickered when she saw how that little look in her eyes reminded her of a nervous Snow White. “So Cleo, have you had a chance to talk with anyone while I was gone?”

Cleo was glad to see Emma back, but at the same time, she remembered Zelena’s threat. She saw the way the redhead was looking at her, a certain smugness on her face. She saw the way Zelena’s hand was touching Emma and frowned slightly at that. “I spoke a little with Aurora and Mulan. Um… Aurora is a bit nervous about finding out Maleficent had kids. She was shocked about that. She’s really your mom? I can see some similarities but uh Maleficent?” She didn’t know who would be brave enough to hook up with someone that had quite a fearsome reputation like that. “I mean… dragons? And you said Ruby was what… a werewolf?” She eyed them. “And what do you know about my parents? Tell me.”

Aurora smiled as she bounced in her seat. “They are very nice people. Great leaders and…” she stopped when she saw how everyone was glaring at her.

Mulan frowned at this, but was curious to hear their side. “I take it you are not in agreement. What happened?”

Merida finally spoke up. “Dissensions between your clans? I can understand that feeling.” She nodded.

“Yeah it’s high time you learned exactly what happened. It’s not a very pretty tale. It has everything to do with what the Charmings have done and how it affected our lives. I’m afraid it all has to do with you and what they took from you before you were even born.” Emma started.

Cleo frowned. She was beginning to have a very bad feeling about this.

#####

By the time they finished telling Cleo everything that happened, Cleo was overwhelmed by what she’d learned. She had mixed feelings about the whole situation and more questions she needed answers for. She wanted to meet her parents and find out for herself what really happened. She wanted to understand why they did what they did. “I don’t understand. They are supposed to be heroes right? Then why would I have darkness inside me? They put my darkness inside you two? All because they said you two were monsters like your mother?! But Emma… I look older than you both...I… is it a dragon thing? Um… when I saw you and you were on the run… you never… I mean I don’t get it.”

Emma answered Cleo. “Probably because dragons are magical beings so of course we would not age the same… your mother said we were monsters so it would not make a difference if they added more darkness inside us. That really happened.”

Zelena looked at Cleo. “They didn’t want you to be tainted with darkness. They wanted you to be perfect, to be pure…”

“Like Snow.” Regina added. “Well we all know she’s not perfect. She killed our mother. She paid the price for it.” 

Aurora was still digesting everything she’d heard. “Well… I get where Snow is coming from. You’re dragons. You’re big powerful mean beasts. You don’t really die and you’re very scary! You can breathe fire and use all kinds of magic. I wouldn’t want to be stuck in the same room as a fire breathing dragon who would want to eat me alive.” She pointed out. “You did put a sleeping spell on me.”

Maleficent rolled her eyes before smirking, “Yes, but I didn’t kill you. I could have if I wanted to. After all, I am a big powerful mean beast. I can breathe fire and use all kinds of magic.” She threw Aurora’s own words back at her. “It would have been oh so easy for me to put you out of your misery if that were something I absolutely wanted to do to you. In fact, you probably told Snow all kinds of things I would be capable of doing, didn’t you?” She had a knowing glint in her eyes as she put the princess in her place.

Everyone looked at Aurora. The princess squirmed in her seat. “Yeah well, my father told me all about you. All those monstrous things you’ve done to them, to my mother and to everyone.” She said this as if they’d done nothing wrong to deserve Maleficent’s wrath. 

Maleficent scoffed. “Of course he would. Your father was a spineless coward. He and I used to be friends until he decided he wanted to be King. He had no drop of royal blood in him. The King before him had no sons. They all killed each other as they fought for the throne. Imbeciles! So the king in a last desperate act of trying to find a heir told your father, to go kill the dragon of the moors and then he would become the next king. Your father lied. He tricked me and then raped me and then stole something precious from me. He used that to prove my death. The old fool died and made your bastard father the next heir of the throne. You think I should have let him get away with what he did?! You should be glad I put you to sleep rather than eating you and destroying your father’s chance to produce a heir to that kingdom of his. He is a false king! Your father sprouted lies about me and destroyed my reputation. Yes I am like no one else your father has ever met. And now I have Emma and Lily. But because of your father, their other parent is missing. How much more do we have to go through before all this madness stops?!” She snapped. “You were not there Aurora. You have no idea what I went through. I may be the Queen of Darkness, but I am no mortal like your father or mother. Neither are my daughters. I dare you to try walking in my shoes and see what that feels like. Snow White and her precious Charming took my girls from me and put their daughter’s darkness inside them after I begged them not to do that. I begged Snow mother to mother not to do what she did! Ironically enough, after Cleo was born, Snow White cast her baby away as soon as she was born. What kind of a mother does that?! She despised the fact her daughter would have been born with darkness inside her. Now can you tell me where that darkness came from? Go ahead, tell my girls and Cleo where it came from.”

Aurora looked down, realizing Maleficent was right. She shook her head. That was something they all wanted to understand. Something else clearly was at work here. The very knowledge her father was responsible of the vile things that happened to Maleficent was a tough pill to swallow.

Maleficent smirked when Aurora had nothing to say to what she had shared with her. “Of course you can’t. But I guarantee you once we find out… we will make those Charmings pay for their crimes against me and my family. Your father started this. I will finish this once and for all and you will not stop me little girl.”

Mulan couldn’t help but be intrigued by everything Maleficent shared with them. She kept looking at Emma and Lily, wondering if their lives had really been as bad as they said they were. A part of her wanted to stay and get to know them better. But another part of her still felt obligated to Phillip to protect Aurora and find a way to get her reunited with him.

Merida was frowning in confusion. She didn’t really understand them. Their customs were much different than hers. But at the same time, she understood what it felt like to live a cursed life. It sounded like the sisters’ lives were cursed and somehow so was Cleo’s. She wished she would be able to find a way to help them somehow.

Cleo looked at Maleficent, still digesting everything she’d learned. And the look in the older dragon’s eyes made her shiver. Why would her parents ever want to double cross someone like her? That just made no sense. She wanted to understand better, what had happened.

Emma looked at Lily, they were thinking about the same thing. They both wondered who their other parent was and hoped to find out soon.

Zelena took Emma’s hand into her own. Through their mated bond, she knew what was going on with her wife. “We’ll find out, darling. I promise, before our babies come… we will figure this out together.” She caressed Emma’s abdomen loving the fact their family was growing.

“Yeah we will.” Lily nodded.

Emma smiled as she kissed Zelena. She was happy she didn’t have to go through this alone again anymore. “Oh you bet we will.”

Cleo was shocked to hear what Zelena said to Emma. “You’re pregnant?”

Zelena smirked as she sat back and rubbed her own abdomen, feeling rather smug about it. “We both are.” She just couldn’t help herself.

Cleo frowned, wondering how the hell that happened.

Regina looked at her sister and back at Maleficent. “Maybe there’s a way we could find out. I’m sure there’s a spell somewhere that will help us reveal the truth and then you will be able to…”

Just then, the door opened and the Charmings came inside.

Aurora smiled and forgot for a moment where she was and what she’d learned about them. “Snow!”


	9. Nine- Snow's foot in mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cleo finally learns what Snow White is like. She bonds with her father...

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter 9

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. Cleo is about to meet her biological parents for the first time. Let’s see how their first meeting goes…

#####

After Aurora excitedly called Snow’s name out just out of habit, she realized her mistake when some of the others at their table turned to glare at her. She looked back at them as she muttered. “Sorry.” She blushed, feeling very awkward right now.

Cleo looked at the entrance and eyed the newcomers with curiosity. They were her parents? She scrutinized them closely while her instincts told her that yes, they were indeed her parents. She could see she got the majority of her looks from her father. The shape of her eyes came from her petite mother. She saw the way her parents were glaring at Maleficent. She turned to look at the Dragon and then back at her parents, but not before she saw the look of hate in Emma’s eyes. She still remembered everything she had learned about those Charmings who were clearly her parents.

Mary Margaret spoke to Aurora. “What are you doing sitting with THEM?” She bristled before she turned to look at the other two who were there with Aurora. “You too.” She then finally turned to look at Cleo and frowned slightly. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing here. But if you know what’s best for you, you’ll stay as far away as possible from those people…” she eyed some of them as if she looked down at them, thinking she was better than them.

Cleo blinked as she looked at Snow White. She didn’t like her attitude. Not one bit. She’d never look down on anyone for being different. She tilted her head in a defiant manner as her eyebrows rose. It was a look that Emma knew very well. Cleo Fox was someone who didn’t take kindly to being told what to do.

Emma smirked as she watched the way Cleo was reacting to meeting her biological mother for the first time. She found this very amusing.

David’s attention was on this new woman as he moved forward and stuttered. “I uh… was I mean… your father… is he…” he looked her up and down, noticing the family resemblance. She looked familiar to him. Actually, a whole lot more than that. It was almost like he was looking at a female version of himself. “Did James perhaps have a kid?” He asked.

Mary Margaret gasped when she heard what David was asking. “David?” She turned and looked at the woman again. Could she be his niece? She certainly looked like they could be related.

Emma smirked as she leaned slightly to whisper into Cleo’s ear. “James was his twin brother. He died.” She explained. “They were identical twins.”

Maleficent laughed. She was enjoying this very much. Humans. They could be pretty dense. “You don’t recognize the child you gave birth to Snow?” 

Mary Margaret glared at Maleficent. “Of course I do! Emma is clearly under a spell! The sooner we break the spell you put on her, the sooner we can get rid of your demon spawns… wherever your other daughter is… I hope you never find her!” She was clearly set in her ways that Emma was her daughter.

David heard what Maleficent was saying. He looked at this woman who looked so much like him. Already, this woman’s eyes were brimming with tears and he could see the hurt in them. “That’s enough Snow!!!” He snapped. He looked from Cleo to the older dragon. “If she’s not James’ then it means she’s our daughter. Is that what you’re saying? She looks so much like me… I…”

“David!!! Have you lost your mind?! Why would you believe a word coming from that monster?!” Snow exclaimed. She didn’t like where David was going with this. As far as she was concerned. She gave birth to Emma. She was not going to accept it any other way.

Emma watched the array of emotions running over Cleo’s face and hated it that Snow was being so despicable and making a fool out of herself like this. She didn’t like it that Cleo’s first meeting with her birth mother was already failing so badly for her. She couldn’t help but to feel bad for her. “She’s YOUR daughter!!! How dare you dismiss her like this! You gave birth to her and threw her away an hour after she was born! Take a good look at her!!! She looks so much like David. This man you love with everything that you are. You would reject her?! All because of your delusion that I am your daughter?! Oh please! You’ll never win the mother of the year that’s for sure!” She said this with sarcasm.

Snow shook her head. “Emma!!! You’re MY daughter!!! Not that dragon’s!!! I don’t care what Doc said. She’s filled your head with lies!!!” She got into Emma’s face. “Hook is your true love!!! That wicked witch has you under a spell and…”

Emma stood up fast, causing the chair she was sitting on to fly back. “I am NOT your daughter!!! She is!!! She smells like you two!!! Hell she even looks like David, YOUR HUSBAND!!! How can you not see that?!” She scoffed and shook her head, feeling disgusted with Snow White. “Are you calling me a liar too?!” She snarled as her eyes glowed, smirking darkly when Snow stumbled backwards in surprise.

Maleficent laughed then as she moved to stand by her daughter. She turned her full attention on Snow White. “That’s right. She’s MY daughter!!! Not yours. She’s all Dragon just as I am. Just as her sister Lily is. You said my babies were monsters. Demon spawns. You put YOUR daughter’s darkness inside my innocent babies before they even had the chance to hatch. Take a good look at your daughter.” She moved over to Cleo and inhaled deeply. “She smells just like you. Sweet and innocent... or is she? With just a smidget of darkness inside her.” She had a very predatory smile on her face as she said this.

Emma laughed as she stepped up and inhaled deeply. “Oh yes, I see what you mean mother. I wonder why she would have that inside her when her parents put the majority of her darkness inside me and Lily. Hmm I don’t get it. If she was supposed to be the product of true love, why the hell would she have darkness inside her in the first place?” She smirked as Lily stepped up.

“Poor Cleo, to have a mother like Snow White. Glad I’m not her. Wonder how she must be feeling knowing what you put us through. Now that your daughter has come home… to be in the same room as me and my sis… knowing we have her darkness inside us… the darkness she should have had. Makes me wonder if other forces are at work here. Who else besides our mother knew about the darkness that was inside Cleo here? Who else knew you were pregnant?”

The Charmings paled at this as they thought about what they were getting at. They shared a look. “Rumplestiltskin.”

Mary Margaret‘s lips tightened as she shook her head. “Where are you going with this? Rumple has always been evil. But so has Maleficent and Zelena. Regina was the Evil Queen. I don’t know what you think you’re doing. You’re trying to distract us from the fact one of you put my Emma under a spell. I wouldn’t be surprised if Regina is evil again since she’s hanging out with you. I don’t know or understand what is going on with Ruby. But something wicked is happening here. Ever since YOU came back…” she glared at Zelena, dismissing everything the Dragon said for now. “MY Emma has not been the same.”

Maleficent was so tempted to attack Snow White for dismissing her. That spoiled little princess infuriated her to no end. She saw the way Regina was smirking knowingly at her as they shared a look. It was as if everything that had been said went in one ear and out the other and had not registered with Snow just yet.

Zelena cackled as she joined her wife. She knew that petite woman was pointing fingers and knew Mary Margaret was challenging her right now. “I put Emma under a spell really?!” She scoffed. “I bet you’d like it if that were true.” She had a truly wicked smile on her face as she kissed Emma before continuing. She was remembering how they made love earlier. She loved her dragon so much. “We shared a true love’s kiss last night. That’s right. She’s mine. I’m hers and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it my pretty.” She stepped closer to the petite woman. “NOTHING!!!” She laughed. “This wrench of yours here…” she looked at Cleo as she rejoined Emma and then looked back at the Charmings. “She’s the spitting image of your shepherd boy. You’re rejecting the truth that she’s your baby girl?” She leaned to murmur to Cleo. “How nice it must feel to be so unwanted by the very woman who gave birth to you. I know that feeling so well.” She then turned to look at Snow White with disgust on her face as Snow continued her tirade.

“But she’s not… she can’t be!!! I know without a doubt Emma is mine!!! I will not let an imposter…” Mary Margaret was refusing to accept what everyone already knew to be a fact.

Maleficent chose that moment to grab Snow White and force her to look at her. “I GAVE BIRTH TO EMMA!!! SHE’S MINE!!!” Her eyes glowed angrily. “NOT YOURS!!! She and Lilith smell the SAME!!! They’re sisters!!! MY BABIES. MINE!!!”

Mary Margaret gave her a wide eyed look as she shook her head. “No! No! No!”

“YOU STUBBORN FOOLISH CHILD!!!” The dragon roared, feeling close to transforming right there. “YOUR DAUGHTER SMELLS LIKE YOU DAMN IT!!!”

Cleo had tears falling down her cheeks when she saw how everyone tried to get Snow White to accept that she was her daughter. She was surprised by how Zelena stepped up as did Emma and that dragon lady. She was about to say something to her mother when she felt strong arms wrap around her shoulders. It was David. She bit back a sob as her shoulders started shaking. She could feel a strong connection with her father. “Daddy?” She whimpered.

Suddenly David was holding her in his arms and kissing her head. “I’ve got you Princess and I’m never letting go of you again. Not after I almost lost my life trying to protect you.” He looked at her closely, remembering her eyes when she was a baby trusting her father to keep her safe. He knew this was his daughter without a doubt. He looked over at Snow, feeling ashamed of her the more she spoke. He’d had enough. “SNOW!!! I SAID THAT IS ENOUGH!!!” His voice boomed over his wife’s rising voice.

Snow gasped. David very rarely shouted at her. It startled her and rendered her speechless. She looked at the way David was holding this woman in his arms in a protective way, wanting to shield her from the rest of the world. Her mouth went dry when she noticed how much alike they looked, standing side by side. She had this sinking feeling she would be in a lot of trouble with her husband. And probably with this woman. “I um… David?”

David sighed deeply. “She’s our daughter, Snow.” He knew it deep down inside. He looked over at Emma, remembering how her eyes had glowed, and how angry she was with them lately. He saw the way Zelena was standing close to Emma and holding her close. He saw Maleficent standing close to Emma and the way Lily was glaring at his wife. He finally noticed the similarities between Emma and her family. He sighed. “I was wrong. We were wrong. I’m sorry…” he looked at Maleficent and her daughters. “I know there is a lot I have yet to understand. But I hope to fix that… to fix this soon.” He looked at his wife before continuing. “I mean this has opened my eyes and all I want to do is get to know our daughter better right now. I want to make up for lost time with her.” He looked at his daughter. “You must have a lot of questions and I will answer them. Let’s go home and we can eat… I can cook us something and introduce you to your brother…”

Cleo bit her lip and nodded. “I do and I want to get to know you better, Dad.” She smiled. “I’m Cleo Fox…” She had a feeling from what she had seen and heard, that most of the troubles seemed to revolve around Snow. She didn’t like the woman her mother was. She’d been very disappointed and wasn’t sure she would ever like her. But she could see David was the better person out of the two of them. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. She hated knowing how far Snow went to put her darkness inside Emma and her sister. She also wanted to understand how her father could have allowed that to happen. She wanted to understand what they were thinking at that time they made the decision to do what they did. She wanted to understand how it was possible for her to have had darkness inside her in the first place. What had really happened? She hoped she would be able to get the answers soon.

David smiled at his daughter. “Well then, Cleo shall we go home? Or do you want to stay here… with them? Um… how do you know Emma?” Before he could find out, his wife interrupted them.

“David? Do you seriously want to take her home? What if it’s a trick? We don’t really know her… I mean…” Snow was still feeling conflicted about the whole thing. She chewed on her lip as she regarded Cleo. She looked back at Emma, frowning as she did this. A part of her was not willing to let go of the fact Emma might not be her daughter. She didn’t want it to be true. Not when she fought so hard to keep certain secrets from Emma.

Emma saw the indecision in Snow’s eyes. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Do you really want me to show you why you should move on from this obsession you have about me being your daughter? I’ll be more than happy to show you.” She had a dark smile on her face as her eyes began glowing as did Maleficent’s and Lily’s. All three pairs of eyes glowed at the same time as they moved towards Snow, wanting to drive the point home. “Go! Your daughter needs you.” Emma growled as her nails sharpened and turned into talons. Her horns began sprouting from her head. “You broke her heart, now you fix it!!!” Her teeth were sharper as she said this.

Zelena got a kick out of what her wife and in-laws were doing. She couldn’t help herself as she cackled with glee.

Snow gasped as she ran past David and Cleo out of the diner. David watched his wife and shared a look with Cleo. By the time they looked at Emma and the others, they were back to their normal selves. They sighed and left the diner.

After they finally left, Emma and her family couldn’t help themselves as they laughed at the way Snow hightailed it out of there.

Lily smirked. “Well that will be very interesting. Can’t believe that Snow White. Has she always been this awful?” She asked. “I hate that bitch.” Her eyes were dark.

Regina scoffed. “I was her stepmother for a time. She’s always been a spoiled brat, always thinking about herself. She never thinks about anyone else. She can be fixated with that Charming of hers, but that’s where it ends. Now she’s fixated with her son. I can see she’s going to have problems with Cleo, our newest resident. We’re going to have to warn her about not crossing the town line.”

Zelena kissed Emma and smirked. “At least Cleo knows how bad Snow is.” She couldn’t help but be smug about it. “Not that she deserves a mother like that… but Snow White sure knows how to dig a hole for herself.” She chuckled, seeing how Emma smiled at what she said.

“It’s her own fault with the hang ups she has with your family, Ems.” Ruby replied. “Looks like it will be up to me to find out what her deal is. Only then will I know whether or not our friendship can be salvaged.” She knew Snow had not liked it that she’d been hanging out with Regina, Zelena, and the dragons. But it was her own business who she chose to hang out with. She was surprised that the Charmings had not checked back with her yet about the fact Emma had made her their newest Deputy, or that she’d taken David’s former position at the station.

Aurora had a frown on her face. She was still reeling from what happened. And seeing this whole other side of Snow White had been a very eye opening experience for her. “Maybe she’s the one who has been cursed.” She shrugged.

Merida nodded. “I feel bad for Cleo. With a mother like that… I suppose it’s a good thing she wasn’t raised by that woman. With a mother like that, I would go insane. Her father on the other hand… she needs him more now than ever.” It was making her miss her own father. She frowned, remembering when he was murdered. She decided then, that she would try to see if Cleo would be interested in making new friends. She wanted to get to know her better. She looked at Emma. “So… tell me, how did you and Cleo meet?” She ignored when Zelena groaned at her question. She smirked at that, remembering how Zelena had reacted when Cleo was all over Emma when she first arrived in this town.

Emma proceeded to tell them the same story she’d shared with Regina and Zelena. She spoke about how Cleo had chased her all the way from Arizona to Maine and was supposed to bring her back all these years ago when she’d skipped bail.

Merida was intrigued by what she was learning about Emma’s connection to Cleo. “You were a thief and broke laws and she had to find you and drag you back?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah but before she could, she died. And before she died, she let me go and told me to run.” Emma smirked, sharing a knowing smile with Lily.

“But if you broke the law…” Merida started. She was trying to understand why Cleo would let Emma get away if she did the crime.

Lily laughed. “Wasn’t the first time either. We did that together when we were kids. Why are you so worried about that anyways? She became the law years later.” She smirked before she looked at their mother, seeing the amused smile on her face. Lily wondered something then.

“And is there anyone in the picture? Like… Who is our father?” She wanted to know.

Maleficent smiled at her brunette daughter. “I suppose the question was bound to come up. He isn’t in my life. He never has been. But that’s because I’ve always been interested in women. He had his life and I had mine. We used each other because I was lonely and wanted a child of my own to love. I ended up with two beautiful daughters. Maybe someday I will be lucky enough to find someone to share my life with.”

“So… who is he?” Lily asked again. She was very curious about their other parent.

Maleficent smiled sadly. “I’m not so sure. I mean, I knew what he looked like, but his aura was blurry. Every time I tried to find out who he was, he would disappear.” She had an apologetic look on her face. “If I knew, I would tell you. Whoever he was… he didn’t want me to find out who he was. He probably had a reason to keep his identity a secret.”

Emma shared a look with her sister before she looked at their mother. “So our other parent is a mystery to you? Looks like we’re going to need to find out soon one way or another.” Emma replied. She was very determined to find out who he was and why he went to all the trouble to keep their mother in the dark about who he was. She thought about Henry and the baby or babies she was carrying. It made her want to know more so she would better understand where she and her sister came from. It was important to know their legacy.

########

Regina and Ruby slipped away after a while and got ready for their date. Regina was surprised with the way the day went and after she and Ruby parted ways briefly so they could freshen up and change before meeting again. She thought about how glad she was that Cora was no longer around to interfere with their lives ever again. She knew Cora wouldn’t approve of her daughter going on a date with a werewolf of the same sex. She took care of making some phone calls at the office. She wanted to make sure everything was in order so she would be able to focus on her evening with Ruby. She moved to look at her own reflection and smirked before she applied her favorite red lipstick. She smacked her lips and smiled, more than ready to see how her evening would turn out. She was curious to see where things would go with one Miss Ruby Lucas. She hoped it would turn out good. Regina needed a nice change of pace for once in her life. It was time to try something different. She took a deep breath before she grabbed her purse and then left to meet Ruby.

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Granny was surprised when Ruby confided in her about how she was going to be meeting with Regina that night and not to wait up for her. Granny wasn’t sure about how she felt knowing that Ruby was going on a date with Regina. Really, she shouldn’t have been surprised. She knew Ruby liked women too. Her granddaughter had dated men and women before but ever since she’d killed that Peter boy, she’d held back, not trusting herself not to do that again. She always made sure to avoid people during her wolfstime. She knew once Ruby finally found her own mate, she would have better control over her own wolf. Granny couldn’t help but hope Ruby knew what she was getting herself into.

“Just be careful. You know very well what our Mayor is capable of. I can’t help but to worry.” Granny had said.

Ruby grinned as she hugged her grandmother. “It’s going to be okay. Trust me. You know I always wanted to ask her out. But until now I never thought I would work up the courage to…” she admitted. “I never thought she’d say yes.” She gave her a very Wolfe grin. “That’s gotta mean something.” She then left to meet Regina.

Granny sighed and smiled. She really hoped Ruby would get what she wanted and hoped Regina would not hurt her. She had to trust that her granddaughter knew what she was doing. She looked up at the night sky, seeing that the moon was out. It was not going to be full for another two weeks at least. She would have to wait and see what would happen next. She also knew she would need to keep an eye on Snow White. She remembered how their former Queen had reacted to Emma not being her daughter and learning that Cleo was the Charmings’ daughter.


	10. TEN- Magic and blood relations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma starts the search into who their other parent is. Regina and Ruby have their date, the guys are not happy. Rumple is up to no good. What has he done to Cleo? A reunion takes place...

Saving the Wicked  
Chapter 10

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it’s characters, just my colorful imagination. Wow that was interesting. Makes you wonder why Snow has such a hard time accepting that Cleo is her daughter especially when she looks so much like David. Why is Snow so obsessed with Emma? Also makes you wonder about how and why Cleo had that darkness inside her in the first place. Did Rumple have something to do with that? We have a mystery on our hands… Emma and Lily’s other parent. Who is he or she? Here’s a little hint… not someone I usually have as their other parent. Emma is going to have to find this person. Why did their other parent go to all the trouble to keep his/her identity hidden? Is Cleo up to something? Will she help Rumple to drive a wedge between Emma and Zelena? Regina and Ruby have a date to keep. Has Regina really moved on from her jealousy of Emma and Zelena? Or will she leave it well enough alone? What will Ruby do? What of Hook or Robin? Shall we find out? For Lynkfan...

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Emma and Zelena went home with Mal and Lily to discuss the events that happened earlier that day. Before Emma could say anything, Lily beat her to it.

“You know… that Cleo is something. I don’t get it. How come her mom cannot accept her? Is it because of her darkness? I mean she looks like her father.” Lily bit her lip as she started thinking about it.

Maleficent looked at her daughter. “Maybe because Snow thought she saw a younger Emma in her vision. Clearly she didn’t see Cleo. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Rumple had anything to do with the darkness that Cleo had in her. I sensed his magic in her. I don’t trust him. He is always up to something.”

Emma nodded. “That makes sense. He was the first to find out about Snow’s baby. Of course he was also obsessed with me being the Savior. He did something to make it happen that way.” She then looked at her wife. “And now Zelena is back. I don’t think Rumple s happy with that. Well too bad for him. We will not let him get to you.” She kissed the redhead. 

Zelena smiled as she leaned into Emma. “Rumple and Robin can try. But I know you won’t let anyone get to me. I may be the Wicked Witch of the West, but I also have my very own Dragon too.” She batted her eyelashes.

Emma chuckled knowingly. “And a horde of flying monkeys too. Let’s not forget that.”

Maleficent smirked darkly. “And you have us too. We will not let any harm come to my grandchildren. Or they shall incur my wrath, should they try.”

Lily grinned. “Don’t worry. We’re family now.” She winked. “Speaking of family, we still need to find our other parent. Is there a spell that will bring our father to us? I wanna find out why he wouldn’t tell you who he was when he mated with you. What was he hiding?”

“That’s a good question, sis. I want to know if something happened to make him too scared to reveal who he was. Did he have another family or what? Did he ever give you a hint?” Emma asked their mother.

Maleficent thought back to all the times she spent with her lover. “Well he was a shapeshifter. He could change into a raven besides a dragon. But he also had the ability to be inside any form or creature too. He taught me other forms of magic. But he also hinted that he could also be a woman. Once I saw him bring a dead animal back to life too.”

Emma shared a look with Zelena and Lily when she heard what Maleficent said. “Wait… back up a minute… a woman? So you’re saying our father could also be a woman? Maybe it’s not a man we’re supposed to be looking for… but another woman? Maybe if he or she were in disguise, our other parent could easily do it in a way, hidden and still be in plain sight? Maybe the forms he or she used around you helped to keep their identity shrouded. When is the last time you saw your lover?”

Zelena was intrigued by where this discussion was going. She wondered who Emma’s other parent was and hoped they would find out more soon since it was a part of Emma’s legacy. Especially the baby or babies growing inside her. She moved to hold Emma and caressed her abdomen. “Maybe their other parent would love to meet Emma and Lily and our growing family. I mean there’s also Henry. He probably would like to meet whomever his other grandparent is.”

Maleficent nodded. “You’re right. But the last time we were together was before the curse hit Storybrooke and Regina brought me here. So we took turns fooling around in the Enchanted Forest or… Camelot.” She admitted.

Emma and Lily looked at each other in surprise when they heard what their mother said. They couldn’t help but to be surprised at her revelation.

“Camelot? As in King Arthur and the Knights of the round table and… Excalibur?” Emma was trying to make sure they heard their mother right the first time. “Is Merlin real too?”

Maleficent chuckled, loving the looks on her daughters’ faces. “Oh yes darlings. Very real. Although Merlin is stuck in a tree, waiting for someone powerful enough to get him out.” She smirked. 

########

When the Charmings arrived at their loft, David finally was able to introduce Cleo to her brother. “This is Neal.” He put him in Cleo’s arms. “I’m going to start cooking us some dinner…” he had not noticed the sad look on his daughter’s face.

Cleo nodded and moved to sit down, scrutinizing her baby brother and noticing they looked a lot alike except he looked more like their mother. She couldn’t help but to wonder what happened to her daughter that she gave up years ago. She still had a hard time believing that it had been 15 years since she died. She still had a lot to digest and now she was sitting here at her parents’ loft.

Snow moved to follow her husband into the kitchen after staring at their daughter for a few minutes. “David. Talk to me please.” He had been giving her the silent treatment after they left the Diner. She knew he was upset with her. “Please David. Why are you mad at me?”

David scoffed as he looked at his wife incredulously. “Are you kidding me right now? After the way you treated our daughter?! Look at her! She’s our baby.”

Mary Margaret shook her head. “Maybe you think she is. Rumple said that our daughter would be the savior. This woman is not the Savior. Emma is and she…” she jumped when David slammed a pan on the counter.

“You believe Rumplestiltskin? We were told a lot of things and look what happened!!! I don’t know why our daughter had darkness inside her in the first place. It all started with Rumple. He probably had a hand in it. And we did what we did. We pulled Maleficent and her daughters in our mess and included them in our mess when you had this idea to use her daughters’ egg in the first place. Cleo is as much a victim in this as is Emma and Lily. And so is that dragon you hate so much. Maybe it’s time we focus on our family right now and fixing things with OUR daughter. She’s right here right now. We never really had Emma. Do you want to lose your daughter again because you’re so stubborn to see what is right under your nose?”

Mary Margaret sighed as she turned to look at Cleo who was sitting in the other room, playing with Neal. She bit her lip as she thought about what David was saying. He was right about one thing. They lost Emma. She hated that feeling so much and it twisted her guts. She wished she could go back in time to undo some of the things that led them to this moment in their lives. Maybe it was time to get to know Cleo. She didn’t know if she would be able to fix the damage between them. She looked back at her husband realizing their family was at risk of being broken in a lot of ways. She didn’t want that. She sighed as she made some hot chocolate and brought over one to Cleo.

Cleo looked at her mother as she came into the living room with some hot chocolate. She still didn’t know what to make of her and there wasn’t anything she wanted to say to her just yet. She felt very awkward right now. “Um… thanks.”

David looked at them as he cooked them some dinner. He was just glad his wife wasn’t saying anything right now. She’d had a tendency to put her foot in her mouth. He sighed, hoping that Snow would give their daughter a chance and warm up to her. For four years, they had thought Emma was their daughter. But now he knew better. He just didn’t understand why it was so hard for his wife to let go. He thought with Emma showing them who she was… that it would be easier for Snow to move forward.

########

Regina and Ruby finally met at the bar. They’d moved to the corner in the back so they would have some privacy and be able to hear each other better. The mayor noticed that Ruby had changed her normal attire for something different. She smiled, seeing this side of the wolf. It was obvious that Ruby tried to outdo herself so Regina would notice her efforts. “You dress up nicely.” She smiled.

The taller brunette blushed. “I just wanted to just cause tonight is special and well… you’re here with me.” It clearly meant more to Ruby than Regina realized. “I honestly thought you wouldn’t want to go out with me. I mean we’re from different worlds. You’re the Mayor and you’re the Queen. I’m just a waitress, now deputy and a wolf.” She grinned nervously.

Regina looked at Ruby bemusedly. “Well, you did ask me out. Did you think I would stand you up? I know who and what you are Miss Lucas. What do you want from me?”

Ruby licked her lips wetting her dryness away. “I um… well I was hoping to get to know you better. I mean Emma is your best friend and I was kinda hoping that we could be friends and maybe more.” She didn’t want to admit that she was jealous that Emma knew a certain side of her better than she did.

Regina eyed the young wolf. “Well we do share a son. Of course we would need to be civil and friends for our son’s sake. It’s so much better than fighting over Henry.” She was amused. “Emma is my sheriff. Of course we would see each other on a regular basis. Whether or not I decide we are friends is my business, my decision to make. You asked me out Miss Lucas. The ball is in your court. However you want this to turn out… we will have to see won’t we.”

Ruby nodded. “I know. I mean of course.” Shit. She didn’t want to mess up the evening with Regina. She couldn’t help but to be nervous about screwing this up. “Well I like you. And I hope you like me enough to give me a chance to get to know you better. I don’t care about who you were in the past. But since this is Storybrooke and your town… maybe we can see where things go from here. Let’s get some drinks and something to eat?”

Regina smiled, she could see that Ruby was trying to make an effort to get to know her. Not many people were brave enough to ask her out. She’d gone out for drinks with Emma before and Emma was never afraid of her. It was a nice change of pace to see someone else stepping up too. “Yes, Let’s do that shall we?” They soon had their drinks and shared some appetizers, getting to know one another. 

Regina found Ruby easy to talk with and realized it seemed easier to open up with her. She was glad Ruby did not judge her for what she did in the past and was happy when she did not bring it up once during the time they took to get to know one another. They played pool and Ruby taught her how to play the sport. Regina enjoyed it very much.

Ruby enjoyed it even more as it allowed her to get to know what Regina liked or did not like. She liked being allowed to get a bit more personal with her. It certainly seemed that the Mayor was flirting back with her. It felt as if everything else melted away in the background and it was just the two of them there. 

When Regina got a nice buzz going, Ruby noticed and offered to take her out for some fresh air and go for a walk, making sure to get some water to ensure that Regina was getting the hydration she needed. When the night came to a close, Ruby offered to take Regina home and make sure she got home safely. She saw the Mayor up the steps to her door and then gave her a goodnight kiss.

“I enjoyed tonight. Thank you for taking a chance on me.” Ruby smiled, relishing in the way the Mayor tasted on her lips.

Regina chuckled, “Think nothing of it wolf girl.” She murmured. “Thank you for bringing me home.” They said their good nights.

Ruby left with a huge smile on her face and a spring in her steps as she left.

Regina went to bed with a smile on her face, forgetting what happened with Emma and Zelena and the whole drama earlier. For once, she had a good night’s sleep.

Neither Ruby nor Regina were aware that their date had not gone without observation. Two men had watched them that night. One wasn’t happy, the other was just merely amused, thinking he would have the advantage of one Evil Queen’s attention having been turned elsewhere. He had plans of his own and with the Evil Queen being distracted, he felt that he would be able to get to a certain Savior, forgetting that said Savior was still unavailable.

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Emma decided after making love with her wife, and waiting until Zelena went to sleep, to do some research. She decided to check into the stories about Camelot. From what her mother shared, she was able to conclude that their other parent had to have lived during the time of Camelot’s rule. She knew with fairytales being real in this part of her world, and with Camelot being real too, chances were so were the others who were a part of Arthur’s time. She read up on Merlin and people associated with him. She learned more about Avalon and the Lady of the Lake. She learned more about Arthur’s parentage and the knights of the round table, Morgana, Mordred and such. She remembered meeting Lancelot when he was in the Enchanted Forest. She read up on people who had powers like Merlin, the Lady of the Lake and again, Morgana. She chewed on her lip as she realized she was feeling more drawn to finding out more about Morgana. There was just something about her that seemed to pop up more than the others. She was so deep in the research that she did not hear Zelena stir awake and move up behind her.

“Did you find out anything darling?” Zelena asked as she kissed her neck and then looked over her shoulder. She knew how much Emma wanted to find out about her other parent.

Emma inhaled sharply and let out her breath. “I think so. But I need to be sure. I need to find a spell that will allow me to find her and bring her to me. I don’t know why… but my instincts are telling me to bring Morgana here. My instincts are also never wrong.”

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While the rest of Storybrooke was oblivious to what was happening around the corner, Mr. Gold decided to use his magic to call Cleo to him when everyone else was asleep. He had very big plans and it was time to put those plans of his into motion.

Cleo found herself back in the pawnshop, standing there in her pajamas. She felt very self conscious as she looked around and found herself face to face with… what had they said his name was? Mr. Gold? Or was it Rumple something? “You… why am I here? What the hell do you want?”

Mr. Gold smiled smugly at her. “I need you to do something for me. You’ve met my archenemy Zelena.”

Cleo shivered, wishing she had her jacket with her. “Yeah… what about it?” She would never forget the way Zelena threatened her when she first arrived.

Gold smirked as if he knew some things she didn’t. “I know you’ve got strong feelings for our Miss Swan. How did your reunion go with her?”

Cleo frowned, wondering why he called her there. “Why do you want to know?” She had bad vibes about this man. She wished she were back home in bed.

Gold chuckled. “What if I told you… there was a way you would get the Emma you know and love back?”

Cleo shook her head. “I don’t know what you think you know. Emma’s with Zelena now. Maybe I loved Emma once, but it’s been what… 15 years. Emma’s moved on and married the Wicked Witch of the West.”

Gold seemed a bit surprised to hear that Emma was married to the witch now. How had he missed it? He grimaced as he thought things through. “Leave Zelena to me. I will help you get Emma back. That wicked witch has something I want and you will help me get what I need.”

“What makes you think I will help you?” Cleo wasn’t having any of it and did not want to do anything like that to Emma. The room went dark as she fell to the floor unconscious.

“Because you will dearie.” Gold giggled as he moved over Cleo’s prone form and sprinkled some magic dust on her. He smiled victoriously as the magic wove into Cleo’s skin. Now he was going to be able to set his plan into motion.

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The following morning, Cleo woke up disoriented and with a pounding headache, noticing she was back in bed. She didn’t remember how she got there. Had it all been a dream? She tried to remember what that Gold guy told her. But for some reason, she couldn’t seem to recall their conversation. She brushed it aside as just a crazy dream and went to take a shower and take some aspirin before getting breakfast. She saw her father and brother.

“Good morning. I hope you slept well. Your mother just went to work. She’s a teacher.” David explained.

Cleo nodded, not really caring about what her mother was doing. “Um… where does Emma live?” She had this need to go and see her.

David frowned. “Why do you want to see her? You never told me how you two met. Sit down, eat and fill me in. Then if you still want to see her, you can.” He smiled, putting pancakes on a plate for her. “Coffee? Tea?”

Cleo sighed as she sat down. “Tea’s fine.”

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Zelena and Emma were already up and eating with Roland, Maleficent and Lily. Zelena nudged Emma to tell them what she found out.

Emma smiled as she looked at her family. “I may have an idea of how to find our other parent… I mean from what you shared with us, I figured out our parent had to have lived around the time of Arthur and the knights of the round table and I remembered meeting Lancelot. So yeah anyways. I figured since Merlin was stuck in a tree he couldn’t be our father. It would have to have been someone else who could have maybe trained with him or knew him. But this person would need to be a shapeshifter and very powerful. A sorcerer or sorceress. You said she had mentioned being a woman… so I looked up references on others who were powerful during Merlin’s time and I found someone. A woman named Morgana. She has shapeshifting abilities and has been known to turn into a raven or dragon. She also has abilities to change into a man or woman and to be anyone she wants to be, to take their form or be in other’s forms, even beasts. She also can bring the dead to life or to animate them.” Emma was getting excited about this. “She also can control the elements. Here’s a list of things she is able to do…” she handed them copies of what she’d discovered about this Morgana. “So I was wondering if you could find a spell to bring her here? Or maybe open a portal...if you could travel between Camelot and the Enchanted Forest… maybe we could bring her here and find out if she is indeed your lover. Maybe you would be able to ask her why she didn’t want you to find out who she was when you were with her intimately like that. She would have no choice but to tell us since it’s a very good possibility she gave us to you. Wouldn’t she want to know about us? This would be your chance to tell her.”

“Wow Ems! You found all that out? You’re good sis. But damn let us process this first.” Lily replied, running her hand through her hair.

Mal sat back in surprise as she looked over everything Emma found out. It all seemed to match what they already knew. Even the name alone seemed to be calling out to her. She knew her lover was powerful and had even sensed that power in her lover. But was surprised at what she was learning. It made sense because they’d been drawn to each other from the first moment they met. “I still have that trinket she gave me. We could probably use that to open up a portal. I have questions I need answered. Only she can give them to me. We did make love as dragons. If she shows me her Dragon form, I will know if it was her who gave you two to me.”

Zelena beamed. “Can we do this after breakfast? I would love for it if you are able to reunite with her. I could help you with the spell.” She offered. “I’m a sucker for reunions.”

The dragons smiled and agreed to do this spell after breakfast. Once they finished eating and showered and got ready, they moved back to the kitchen.

“I know it’s a cliche, but I keep all the ingredients in the pantry.” Zelena smiled. She always loved the fact she had a stone fireplace in her kitchen and that was where she loved to work on bringing her spells to life.

Maleficent smiled in appreciation. “I like being able to access everything easily.” She moved a life sized mirror to the middle of the kitchen. They then began the spell to open the portal. “I hope she’s still where she has always been. Let’s hope she won’t fight me when she sees that she no longer needs to hide her identity from me. It’s a moot point for her now.” She mixed the ingredients with Zelena’s help and then tossed the trinket into the pot. Soon, a dark cloud formed and overflowed into their area, surrounding and penetrating the mirror and then a portal opened, enabling them to see into the very place that Morgana was.

A beautiful dark haired woman looked up, sensing magic surrounding her. She moved backwards as a mirror appeared out of nowhere. “What the…?” Her eyes widened as she began realizing that she was looking at some faces peering at her through the magical mirror. She recognized Maleficent but knew that Maleficent didn’t know who she was the last time they met. “Maleficent?” She then clamped her hand over her own mouth, realizing that she had never revealed her true form to her before.

Maleficent’s eyes widened as she saw this woman for the first time. To hear her name on her lips, it did things to her. Suddenly she knew that Morgana was the one who’d been with her countless times. She inhaled deeply, the magic allowing her scent to move through realms. “It’s always been you.” She murmured. She couldn’t get over how beautiful this woman was. It explained why Lily got her dark hair and eyes. She wanted to be mad for the deceit. But the look on Morgana’s face surprised her.

Morgana moved closer to the mirror and reached out, wanting to touch Maleficent. She forgot for a moment that she was supposed to hide who she was. She didn’t want to keep hiding. Not when so many years had gone by. The threat was no longer around.

Maleficent saw Morgana’s hand come through the magical mirror and reached out to pull her in. Suddenly, Morgana was no longer in Camelot and was now standing there with them in Storybrooke. “I’ve got you now.” She pulled her closer and hugged her tightly.

Morgana sighed deeply, feeling herself relax in Mal’s arms.she looked at her blond lover. “You’re so beautiful.” She murmured before she looked around, seeing others there. “Where am I? Who are they?”

Emma and Lily were both grinning as they saw how their parents reacted to each other. Emma replied. “You’re in Storybrooke, Maine and probably a long long way from your home, long after Camelot has fallen.”

Maleficent beamed proudly. “This is Emma and Lily. They are our daughters. You gave them to me darling.”

Emma grinned as she pulled Zelena closer. “And this is my wife, Zelena…” it was time for them to talk and to get the answers they needed. Roland was staring wide-eyedly at Morgana. Seeing her appear by magic was fun to see.

Zelena smiled. “This is our Roland. You’ll meet Henry later. Emma is his mother.” She explained as they all moved to sit down.


End file.
